Hospitals in Central Florida are reporting a big spike in teenage suicide makes an attempt, with some figures displaying a serious uptick previously 12 months. In keeping with Marni Stahlman, president of the Psychological Well being Affiliation of Central Florida (MHACF), almost 9 % of highschool college students made makes an attempt in opposition to their lives.
In an interview with Information 6 WKGM, Stahlman mentioned the suicide price in Central Florida amongst younger individuals is at a 20-year all-time excessive. Hospitals confirmed the statistics discovered by the Well being Affiliation and indicated that 9 % of youngsters in grades 9 by way of 12 tried to commit suicide at the least as soon as within the final yr.
The disturbing climb in suicidal ideation and despair amongst Floridian youngsters coincides with a common upswing of psychological well being points in Central Florida. In July, the Coronary heart of Florida United Manner (HFUW) reported 988 calls to the middle from Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties. The calls elevated 32 % within the first 30 days after the brand new nationwide lifeline was unrolled, as in comparison with a yr prior.
The brand new 988 three-digit quantity is a lifeline that was authorised in 2020 that applies particularly to suicide and psychological well being crises, and is supposed to be a extra accessible possibility than dialing 911. The psychological well being disaster very a lot predates the disclosing of the brand new lifeline. In 2021, HFUW’s 211 Disaster Line answered a staggering 11,000 suicide calls. This amounted to 30 suicide calls each single day from the three-county Central Florida space.
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Central Florida’s psychological well being disaster is emblematic of a nationwide disaster. In keeping with Vibrant Emotional Well being, the group that works with the federal authorities on 988, the Lifeline acquired over 96,000 calls, textual content and chats, in comparison with over 66,000 the week earlier than, a forty five % enhance in quantity. It’s an roughly 66 % enhance in quantity in comparison with the identical week in 2021.
The 988 disaster line was made efficient six months after the USA Surgeon Normal issued a dire warning that younger persons are experiencing cataclysmic ranges of “psychological misery” and accelerated ranges of tension, despair and different psychological well being issues. The general public well being disaster amongst youth, whereas little doubt present earlier than 2020, worsened dramatically because of the protracted isolation and social alienation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the devastation it wrought on tens of millions of households who suffered the loss of life of a beloved one and a decline of their dwelling requirements.
Final month, a Central Florida couple pointed to the disaster of youth despair after their 16-year-old daughter, Mckenna Brown, dedicated suicide earlier than beginning her senior yr of highschool. A star athlete who hoped to play ladies’s hockey on the College of South Florida, she was sooner or later away from beginning her final yr at East Lake Excessive in Tarpon Springs earlier than tragically taking her personal life on August 7. “She made a pair errors. It led to some bodily, sexual, emotional abuse,” Mckenna’s father Hunter informed FOX 13 in Tampa Bay. “She was blackmailed. She was bullied. She was betrayed by her finest pal.”
Information from different businesses make clear the rising prevalence of suicide makes an attempt in Florida throughout the previous two years. Whereas the CDC reported a 31 % enhance in psychological health-related ER visits from Could 2021 to 2022, the Florida Poison Management Heart confirmed a 51 % enhance over two years in calls. At least 165 youngsters throughout Northwest Florida have been both despatched to the ER or hospitalized for self-harm accidents.
In keeping with a research from public well being researchers on the College of South Florida this yr, suicide is a number one explanation for loss of life amongst 10- to 14-year-olds within the state. After reviewing the circumstances of 5,017 victims, the research’s investigators found 69 % of violent deaths in Florida in 2019 have been the results of suicide. The rest have been primarily attributed to murder.
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USF’s Faculty of Public Well being is contracted by the Florida Division of Well being to assist accumulate and analyze particular knowledge pertaining to deaths brought on by suicide. This yr’s research discovered that many of the suicide victims from 2019 tended to be middle-aged or older white males. The workforce additionally noticed rising variety of suicides amongst black males, particularly youthful black males between the ages of 10 and 24.
In 2019, there have been 25 suicides amongst 10- to 14-year-olds in Florida, the age group’s second main explanation for loss of life behind unintentional accidents. For these aged 15 to 19, there have been 102 suicides, and amongst these 20 to 24 years outdated the quantity was 190.
Catherine Rhea, the vp for HFUW, hinted at a number of the elements fueling the psychological well being disaster in Central Florida, together with acute ranges of social devastation. “What we’re discovering too is that many individuals are calling in disaster, however they’re really having a monetary disaster after we discuss with them,” Rhea mentioned. “And if we are able to get them that rental help or connection to a meals financial institution or utility help, if we can assist the monetary disaster we can assist, hopefully assist, alleviate the psychological well being disaster.”
Along with inflicting over 1,000,000 deaths, the pandemic upended the lives of numerous tens of millions of households. Social help directed towards rental help and psychological well being providers from state and federal governments was both threadbare or deserted, because the Democrats and Republicans prioritized rescuing Wall Avenue and the companies whereas working individuals suffered from meals insecurity and the specter of homelessness.
A number of quarterly stories launched by the HFUW embody testimonials from psychologically distressed callers, with many citing monetary hardship because the precursor to emotional and psychological misery. A fall 2021 name from a Central Florida resident famous that he was on a set revenue and at the moment struggling to pay his payments attributable to his roommate leaving, after which he was solely answerable for hire funds. He had fallen behind and had exhausted his private choices of asking family and friends for assist. The report mentioned this was his first time calling the HFUW’s cellphone line.
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One other quarterly report in late 2021 described a caller who was having a tough time coping with homelessness and psychological well-being. A spring 2022 report mentioned a caller had depleted her financial savings and that she was liable to dropping her dwelling. The caller, feeling overwhelmed, didn’t know the way she would resolve her points and contemplated suicide as her solely possibility.
Though these stories describe constructive outcomes, the anecdotal experiences testify to a social order in a state of decay. Earlier this yr, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings mentioned the county has at the least a $49.7 million hole in psychological well being and behavioral providers. In keeping with a report from HFUW, Florida ranked forty ninth out of the 50 states for entry to psychological well being providers. Up to now, Orange County has solely been in a position to increase $1 million from the HFUW towards psychological well being providers, a sum fully insufficient to resolve the disaster.
A Florida surfer says he’s thankful to be alive after being attacked by a shark not once, but twice now in his lifetime in the same area.
Both bites happened in the same waters, on Bathtub Beach in Martin County, a decade apart.
Charter boat captain and former competitive surfer Cole Taschman said he was paddling just past the reef when what he thinks was shark 7 or 8 feet long hit him from behind.
He described the shark as a “beast” to NBC affiliated WPTV, and thought it was a tiger or bull shark.
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“Both feet were in the shark’s mouth at once,” he said. “I looked back and I kind of got a glimpse of him, very wide nose, and I screamed… I was like, I’m dead.”
Taschman said his friends, also surfers, immediately came to his aid. His girlfriend even captured the dramatic moments from the shore.
“I got bit by a shark!” he yells in the video.
On the beach, his friends used their surf leashes to form a tourniquet and stop the bleeding as they raced to the nearest hospital.
From there, Taschman was transferred to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
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“The injury from the shark was very impressive, like the lacerations from the shark teeth are almost as clean from the knives, the surgical steel, we use to do our surgeries,” one of the surgeons on his team said.
This incident, Taschman said, was much more serious than the first time he was bitten. He told WPTV that he has had two surgeries to repair three tendons and received 93 stitches.
“The difference between a high school athlete and an Olympic athlete are the difference between the two bites–very different,” he said.
The first time was in 2013, when Taschman was just 16 years old.
“It just happens so quickly that it’s a big adrenaline rush and it’s a lot of shock, and you do just kind of have a moment where it’s like, ‘OK I’m dead,’” he said.
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And even though the chances of ever being attacked by a shark, let alone twice, are extremely low, Taschman said he doesn’t feel unlucky.
“Don’t surf alone, and have your knowledge of what you’re doing. Know how to use a leash as a tourniquet, know how to be prepared to do these activities,” he said. “It’s proper prior planning, you know?”
The big story: As voters across Florida cast early ballots in advance of Election Day, they have the opportunity to decide whether to change the state constitution to allow for partisan school board elections, as News Service of Florida reports.
Some say the change would allow for greater transparency in what candidates stand for. Others, including a statewide student group, contend that it would inject too much politics into an already divided area where the main objective should be serving children, as WLRN reports.
They suggest that voters should look at candidates’ qualifications and priorities, and not make decisions based solely on party affiliation. Vox explored Florida’s Amendment 1 and the role of politics in education on its latest Today, Explained podcast. Take a listen.
A similar debate is playing out in Pasco County’s schools superintendent race, which already is a partisan election. One of the candidates is running without party affiliation against a well-funded Republican, hoping for an upset. His backers are starting to believe it could happen. Read more here.
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In Flagler County, a candidate endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis lost his primary bid to serve on the school board. Now DeSantis has appointed him to complete the term of a board member who resigned too late for an election to select her replacement, Ask Flagler reports.
Hot topics
Affordable housing: The Monroe County school board continues to work through details for providing housing that its employees can afford, the Key West Citizen reports.
Cost cutting: The Hillsborough County school district is looking to save money on its health insurance expenses by self insuring, WUSF reports.
‘Intellectual freedom’ survey: The State University System’s annual survey indicated students and staff feel they have more freedom of speech than offered at other schools across the nation, Politico Florida reports. About 14% of students and 12% of staff participated. More from Florida Phoenix.
NIL: The Board of Governors wants more details on how a recent settlement that involves compensation for student-athletes will impact the future of college sports in Florida, News Service of Florida reports.
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Special education: Some St. Johns County parents say their children with special needs are not treated equitably in school despite the district’s efforts to decrease its use of restraints on students who are acting up, Jacksonville Today reports.
School choice: Palm Beach County schools have added ten new specialty programs in advance of the choice application window, the Palm Beach Post reports.
Teacher pay: The Collier County school district boosted its minimum teacher pay to $57,000 a year, second highest in Florida, WBBH reports.
From the police blotter … An Osceola County high school student was arrested on allegations of making threats of violence against a school, WKMG reports. • Law enforcement investigated calls that an Indian River County middle school student had brought a weapon to school. It turned out to be an unloaded plastic BB gun, TC Palm reports.
From the court docket … A former Port St. Lucie assistant police chief avoided jail time with a plea deal in a case described as a scheme to falsify records to allow high school football players to participate on Martin County teams they were not zoned for, WPTV reports.
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Don’t miss a story. Yesterday’s roundup is just a click away.
Before you go … Are you ready for the Great Pumpkin?
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For two years Jacksonville won’t be home to the annual matchup between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs as EverBank stadium undergoes renovations.
The game will be played in Atlanta in 2026 and Tampa in 2027.
Enrique Hinojosa, a Georgia fan, said the announcement was bittersweet.
“Not because of the locations just because it’s not RV City,” Hinojosa said. “The friends and family we made here over the years probably won’t reunite there. And what we do here you can’t do there. So we’ll probably skip out those two years.”
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On another side, other people didn’t mind it.
“We’ll be in Atlanta at Mercedes Benz in 2026 and Tampa in 2027,” Randy Stone, a Georgia fan said.
“I started thinking how am I going to get my RV down there,” Richard Dean, a Florida Fan. “Where are we going to park the RV… “We’ll get there. We’ll figure it out.”
The games not being played in Jacksonville in 2026 and 2027 aren’t a first.
In 1994, the game was played in Gainesville, and in 1995 it was played in Athens.
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Stone said he’s just glad the decision-makers chose a neutral site for 2026 and 2027.
“If they take campus to campus, I don’t think it’ll ever comeback to a neutral site,” Stone said.
This game is one that brings in a lot of money to our area.
According to Katie Mitura, chief marketing officer for Visit Jacksonville, the estimated economic impact the game had on our area in 2023 was nearly 38 million dollars.
Their chief marketing officer broke it down even further and said the direct cash spent, or money spent on things like hotels and other businesses was nearly 22 million dollars last year.
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In 2022, the economic impact was nearly 40 million dollars.
While the direct cash spent was almost 23 million dollars.
The game not being here could mean a loss of money for the area.
News4JAX asked Visit Jacksonville if they had a statement about the game not being here and the potential loss of money for the area.
They said, in part. they are “really excited about the new stadium in 2028…and we are doing a lot of work to fill in the gap for the business holes during those years.“
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