BY DOUG HARLOW

Staff Writer

Three area high schools are among 11 in the state to receive federal grant money for youth suicide prevention.

Upper Kennebec Valley High School in Bingham, Madison Area Memorial High School and Nokomis Regional High School in Newport each will receive $7,500 from The Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

The town of Winthrop, in Kennebec County, where a series of suicides rocked the community a few years ago, also is on the list of receiving schools.

From 2001-2005 there were 101 deaths by suicide in the 10-24- year-old population in Maine, said Christine Cantybrooks, director of Caring About Lives in Maine, the project that administers the funding.

"It's the second-leading cause of death among youth aged 15-24," Cantybrooks said Monday. "The leading cause is unintentional injury, primarily motor vehicle traffic accidents."

In Maine, there are an average of 20 suicide deaths annually in the age group. Of every five suicides, four of them are young men, according to Cantybrooks.

William Braun, superintendent of School Administrative District 48, where Nokomis High School students live, said suicide is something no one can predict.

"We want to make sure that we eliminate any elements that may show up and have more tools to work with," Braun said "Kids at that age ... are a pretty high at-risk group for things that affect them emotionally. Sometimes they just don't have a way to let that out.

"We want to make sure they've got everything available to them to deal with any of those broken love affairs or home catastrophes, and given the economic times, there's going to be plenty of them, too."

Suicidal behavior among young people is a much larger public health concern than what is represented in death statistics, the Maine Suicide Prevention Web site states. About one in seven high school students report seriously considering suicide in the past 12 months.

Suicide attempts by young people are more likely to result in an emergency room or hospital visit than among older people. According to national estimates, there may be 25 or more non-fatal suicide attempts for every completed suicide.

The grants are generated through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Cantybrooks said the money will be used to provide prevention through early identification, intervention, referrals for area families and training for teachers.

Community organizations that identify and assist youth at risk for suicide will be strengthened or created to include crisis services, substance abuse treatment and child and family behavioral health services, she said.

The selected high schools will implement the Maine Lifelines Program, a suicide prevention program. Student Assistance Teams in each school will monitor student risk factors and the effectiveness of interventions, according to Cantybrooks.

The School Administrative District 13 school board is scheduled to accept the grant at its meeting on Thursday, Superintendent Kenneth Smith said.

"Our feeling is there are some kids that have contemplated suicide and probably the numbers are a lot larger, because many of them do not carry thought," Smith said. "Right now we don't have that problem. What we want to do is those contemplating that, we want to make sure we prevent it."

In Madison, the grant application was handled by Karen Martin, the district wellness coordinator, along with high school guidance director Dean Collins, Superintendent Michael Gallagher said.

Doug Harlow -- 474-9534 ext. 342

dharlow@centralmaine.com