Following two deaths involving a student and teacher at Staples High School taking their own lives, the Westport school district is hosting a talk on suicides.
Joanne L. Harpel: survived brother’s suicide. Contributed photo
The event on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. at Bedford Middle School will feature Joanne L. Harpel, an expert on suicide bereavement, on the topic “Suicide in Your School Community: What Parents Need to Know,” the Board of Education was told Monday night.
Her talk follows the deaths of freshman Christopher Lanni, 14, on Dec. 23 and English teacher Cody Thomas, 27, on Jan. 23. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled both took their own lives.
The survivor of her own brother’s suicide in 1993, Harpel has a nationwide practice providing personalized guidance to families, schools, faith communities, and others dealing with the aftermath of suicide.
She also trains professionals, including clinicians, clergy, and school personnel.
Harpel believes that treating suicide differently from other deaths, for instance by not acknowledging to schoolmates what happened, is a mistake.
“What you don’t want to do is reinforce the stigma, which can be deeply painful to the student’s family and friends,” she told an interviewer. “At the same time, because adolescents are especially at risk of suicide contagion, you also want to be careful not to romanticize or glamorize the death.”
Harpel’s talk follows one on Jan. 28 by grief recovery specialist Lisa Athan at Branson Hall at Christ & Holy Trinity Church. That event was organized by community members.
