Smiles Thru Lindsey, a fund held at the Red Deer & District Community Foundation, has distributed $20,000 to Chinook’s Edge School Division and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools for the development of two protocols to support students who are struggling with self-injury and suicidal ideation. This donation will help to train staff in identifying signs and symptoms of non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation, as well as consistent response protocols.“Our goal is to ensure staff have the resources and procedures in place to ensure support for youth who are self-harming or have suicide ideation,” said Marcie Perdue, Associate Superintendent, Chinook’s Edge. “We are excited to work collaboratively with Red Deer Catholic to make a significant impact for students,” Perdue continued.
Smiles Thru Lindsey was started by Rick and Cindy More, in honour of their daughter, Lindsey, who died by suicide nearly 8 years ago. Since its inception, Smiles Thru Lindsey has contributed over $100,000 to mental health initiatives for youth in central Alberta. The More Family are dedicated to spreading awareness about mental health, and supporting services and programs needed to create change, creating a beautiful legacy of hope.
“When Chinook’s Edge and Red Deer Catholic first approached us with this idea, Rick couldn’t stop smiling,” said Cindy More. Rick More said, “Teachers have so much of an impact with kids. It’s possible students will first confide in a teacher before they talk with their parents about their concerns in this area. Also, teachers experience pressure with everything that is expected of them in their work. We are excited about this project because we can see it making a difference.”
The hope with this initiative is that the development and implementation of these protocols will create a culture of knowledge and understanding that will decrease risk to students.
The funds for this donation were raised through the Penhold Bullarama event.
