Seven Bridges, one of the latest victims of suicide.
by Ariel Rivera
Seven Bridges has become the latest victim of suicide. Seven went to a Jefferson County Public school in Louisville, Kentucky. He was bullied for having a birth defect that caused him to have a colostomy bag.
The small child had to undergo twenty six surgeries and was to use a colostomy bag, which was often the target for his bullying. A colostomy bag is a small, waterproof pouch used to collect waste from the body.
“My son took his life due to bullying, it has been probably ongoing for about seven months, horribly,” Tami Charles, mother of Seven Bridges reported. Charles even reported incidents of bullying while on the bus. “He would have little things as he went through school, but nothing as bad as this year,” NBC News reported. Seven had been getting bullied for months, according to his mom.
Charles even went to say that they had reported incidents of this happening, but the school had not done enough. Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky had confirmed the family had come about issues of bullying before, but thought they had been resolved. Seven was often labeled as a “snitch” and ostracized by his teachers.
About three weeks before his death his mother said he was uncontrollably crying in his bed Charles said. She also said that they had tried to “let the past be the past” but Seven’s old friends continued to push him away. Seven’s friends had pushed him away which could be a leading cause of him wanting to commit suicide.
Jefferson County Public Schools Spokeswoman Renee Murphy said that Seven’s death marked the school’s districts eighth student death by suicide this year. Out of all the others students that had committed suicide, Seven was the youngest. There were three suicides in 2017-18 among students in Jefferson County Public Schools, according to Murphy.
“That is definitely an alarming number. We’re seeing several younger students getting into 10, 11, 12 years old that see that as an option for whatever issues they’re facing,” said Patti Clark, who manages suicide prevention efforts for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. “That’s very alarming to us to think that’s where we’re going.” Now this may lead you think what is being done in these schools to prevent these issues. It may also lead you to think about how the teachers helping these children who go through these tragedies.
Freshman Jalani Hopkins said this death made him “feel a little sad.” Hopkins was then asked on how he would have treated seven in this situation. Hopkins said he would have befriended Seven to “Make him feel good and wanted”.
Hopkins believes we can stop the growing epidemic of suicide if we “Show and tell the kids that are getting bullied that they are important and loved. Now that you can see a students perspective on this issue and topic here is a teachers.”
History teacher Oliver Good said, “Suicide is an issue that needed to be addressed when I was in school and continues to be an issue today. I know we as a society have not done enough to help those who are struggling with depression and mental health issues. We as a society continue to fail to meet needs of people and students struggling with depression and acceptance.”
Good thinks we can stop this growing epidemic of suicide. He said, “We as a school and a society to work harder to meet the needs of people struggling with mental health issues. We need to work to change the stigma around mental health diagnosis. We need to work harder to make sure all people feel accepted and a sense of belonging in their class, school, or community.”