Walking into a room, filled with people and things meant to help you. Being able to know that there are people who are on your side, who want to help. Taking a break from the stressors of life. Taking advice from professionals who reside in our school. The Innersight Bridges room was created in 2022 due to a high need for students to have somewhere they could go for stress relief and someone to talk to. This room at the bottom of the H hallway is made to be a completely safe place, for anyone who needs it. Whether you deal with anxiety, depression, stress, or any mental health issues, Innersight Bridges is somewhere you can go to get any help you may want or need. 

Mrs. Butina, the head of Innersight Bridges, believes having a safe place is important for high school students. “Everybody has mental health needs…we all experience it in our lives. Kids are here most of their days, and a lot of their stress does come from school. If we can create a good mental health system here and help students with theirs, it can help students in their transition to the future that is waiting for them,” said Mrs. Butina. 

Now some of you may still be able to sit and think. “Why is this room needed? How is this important?” You don’t understand the importance of this room, or what they are trying to do until–

You feel the emptiness in your heart, in your family. The hurt. The sadness. The pain. Standing in the room, surrounded by people you don’t know. The hugs, condolences, people left and right. They say “I’m sorry for your loss”–like it will make it better. Truthfully what else can they say when a piece of your heart is lost. You stare blankly into the distance, your mind cannot process. It still feels impossible. Why? How? Was there more I could have done? 

These questions race through your mind as you slowly feel empty inside. You wonder how it’s possible to have missed the signs. Could you have helped? Why? How?

 Family events are now different, and a little quieter without your presence. The world is now darker without your beaming smile to light up a room. You laugh a little less because theirs always started the contagion. 

Why is this important? 

It’s for the nights you spend crying in your room wishing you had one more. One more hug, one more minute, one last “I love you.” You wish they could have known that they were not alone. You wish they would have spoken up, gotten help, and not hide “it” from the ones who cared. 

Why is this important? 

Innersight Bridges is for the ones who felt alone, helpless like this was the only choice. It’s for the ones who need someone to listen, to make them feel as though they have a voice. 

Getting help does not make you weak, it makes you strong. Have the courage to let someone in, reach out, and get help. 

Sadness. Loss. Pain. Suicide. It accounts for 20.2% of deaths among young people according to the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. So when you ask why this new room at GLSH may be important, this is not just a percentage. It represents the people who are your friends, family, peers, sons, and daughters. You never think suicide will happen in your life. You don’t think anyone you know could ever feel this way. You think there’s no possibility that you could ever feel that– until it’s too late. This is for the people who walk past your room with their heads down, not being able to bear that you’re gone. The people who wished that you felt as though you could have reached out and said something. 

This is for people like me, who have lost someone to suicide, wondering that maybe if something like this existed earlier you could still be here. Sitting at night wondering what life would be like if you were still here right now. 

The world cannot be filled with what-ifs, life is unfair and you are given things you don’t want. It’s how you deal with the things you’ve been given. So this is the reason Innersight Bridges is important, to me, and to others who have lost someone in this way. This is the way to make a difference. We cannot change our past or have guilt over what more we could have done. It is programs like Innersight Bridges that are striving to make a difference, by providing a safe place to truly care and support those who need it. They will help the ones who still have the chance. That is the importance. 

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255