President of the Northern Caribbean University’s Psychology Students’ Association, Denricka Youth.

Photo Credit: Denricka Youth

By: Romell Eubank

Mandeville, Jamaica- The Northern Caribbean University’s (NCU) Psychology Students’ Association (PSA) intensified their efforts in raising suicide awareness by initiating a campaign geared towards exposing students to different areas of psychology and promoting professional unification among students within the field.

The move comes in light of World Suicide Prevention Day, which was celebrated on Thursday, September 10, 2020, a day when many advocates intensify their campaigns against suicide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “close to 800, 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds.”

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, in his World Suicide Prevention Day message, said Jamaica’s suicide rate is approximately 2.1 per 100,000, with statistics from the Jamaica Constabulary Force reflecting between 47 and 56 deaths per year due to suicide

President of PSA, Denricka Youth shared that suicide prevention is an action, whether small or large that touches someone just enough to remind them that they have a reason to live, to go on, and to just push through. The third-year Psychology Major shared that she’s very passionate about the topic, which instigated the campaign she has started through the PSA, where she serves as the President.

“We’re talking about someone’s life, someone who feels alone and hopeless, and someone who needs to be heard. The fact that a simple smile can prevent suicide means that Suicide Prevention is everybody’s business,” she continued.

She stated that as a Club, they have made it a point of duty, even before school began, to reach out to persons on a deeper level, especially during these unprecedented times. In addition, she also mentioned that the Suicide Prevention Video that was recently made and shared among NCU students to increase awareness was planned in August in anticipation of Thursday, September 10, 2020, World Suicide Prevention Day celebration.

On World Suicide Prevention Day, we saw many organizations take the time out to display photos and short videos encouraging persons having suicidal thoughts to hold on to life and reminding each individual of their value.

“One of PSA’s main goals/plans right now, is to create and build a social media presence. We believe that our presence, our voice, and what we have to share will ‘influence’, ‘inspire’, and ‘impact’ people ‘positively. We want this to be an ongoing culture within the club, so that year from now, when this regime is gone, PSA still prioritizes PEOPLE and still reaches out a hand or a presence of hope,” Youth added.