A fence separates Green Mountain Presbyterian Church from Green Mountain High School in Lakewood, but that hasn’t stopped neighbors from reaching out to help prevent suicides among youths.
The Second Wind Fund slowly evolved from church members seeking to ease heartache created when four Green Mountain High students committed suicide during the 2001-02 school year.
“Originally, we wanted to just raise money for the high school, but we found out there was no program,” said Scott Fletcher, who is on Second Wind’s board.
The nonprofit program has spread from Green Mountain and other Jefferson County schools – from high school to even elementary school – to those in Park, Douglas, El Paso, Mesa and Boulder counties.
In the past year, Second Wind has referred about 240 youths identified as being at risk to therapists and has picked up the bills for those who are uninsured or underinsured.
Second Wind pays for up to eight sessions and, if needed, can extend counseling support.
“It’s been a huge success with kids who went and said, ‘I need a little help,”‘ said J.C. Cox, president of the Second Wind board.
Cox’s son, 17-year-old Jonathan, was the fourth Green Mountain suicide.
“He hurt so many people – his family, his friends, his teachers,” Cox said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through that.”
Recently, Denver started to plug into the Second Wind Fund. The first referrals have been made in Adams County, thanks to a grant from the Carson J. Spencer Foundation, which was formed last year to support programs and services to intervene and treat bipolar disorder.
The Jefferson Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports Jefferson County Public Schools, provides marketing for the fund.
The students “frequently lack coping skills,” said Cheri Kretsch, one of several private therapists who have agreed to provide counseling at reduced cost. “It’s amazing what just a few sessions can do.”
Word of Second Wind has traveled across the nation, with calls seeking information coming from Massachusetts, Georgia and Nevada. The need is particularly acute in Colorado, which has a suicide rate that ranks seventh nationally.
“People don’t know where else to turn, and they see our website as a link to resources,” said Jeff Lamontagne, who has given up half of his environmental law practice to devote time as Second Wind’s executive director.
Lamontagne said a preliminary assessment indicates the fund is making a difference. Of 85 Jeffco students referred in the 2004-05 school year, 50 followed through and met with therapists.
Of the 50, 43 reported improvement, six have not provided enough information and one said he was neither better nor worse.
Said Lamontagne: “We haven’t lost anyone.”
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
Second Wind’s major fundraiser, a walk/run in Lakewood, will be held Sept. 24. Last year’s event drew 1,400 people and raised $80,000. For more information, call 303-988-2645 or go to www.thesecondwindfund.org.
