Another Teen Takes His Own Life

For the second time in as many months, Enfield teenagers are mourning the loss of one of their own via their own hands.

Enfield police were called to a home at 2:39 p.m. Tuesday, where the body of a teenage male was found hanged, Lt. Willie Pedemonti said.

The boy was pronounced dead, and police were treating the case as a suicide, Pedemonti said. A school official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the boy had been a student at Fermi High School, but had dropped out of school fairly recently.

A female student from Fermi hanged herself on Oct. 31. The anonymous school official said the two suicide victims "were close," but added they "did not have a dating relationship."

More than 60 grieving students came to the Fermi auditorium to express their feelings shortly before 8:30 Wednesday morning, according to Mayor Scott Kaupin. The mayor was joined by Principal Paul Newton, Board of Education member Tina LeBlanc and a host of teachers, counselors and school staff offering their support.

"Several students asked if I could come to the school for 8:25, when they were going to ask for a meeting with Mr. Newton," Kaupin said. "He let them talk first and then he spoke, and made a commitment to work on ways they can meet the needs of the students. There needs to be group meetings and counselors available for one-on-one during school or after school, to give the kids a place to go and a variety of ways on how they can overcome any questions that they have or personal concerns about friends. I found it was a very positive meeting, but overall it was just the first step to show there is a definite commitment."

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Tony Torre said counselors would remain at Fermi Friday and possibly into next week.

"I hope we're dealing with it effectively; we think we are," Torre said. "There were a number of students that wanted to be heard and speak with someone this morning at Fermi. They took them into the auditorium right away, then things seemed to settle down a little bit. They then met with them in smaller groups."

A message board posted Tuesday on Facebook contained many comments from students and parents, indicating that bullying may have been a contributing factor in the two deaths. The page, titled "Enough is Enough," had been taken down as of Wednesday morning.

The school board's anti-bullying policy (#5131.9) reads in part, "Students who engage in any act of bullying, while at school, at any school function, or in connection to or with any district sponsored activity or event, are subject to appropriate disciplinary action up to and including suspension, expulsion, transfer to another school, and/or referral to law enforcement officials."

Board of Education Vice Chairman Vincent Grady said, "It's unfortunate that this happened, and my heart and that of the school administration goes out to the family who lost a child, and I feel for the kids who lost a friend."

In the wake of the tragic losses, several events are being planned.

A pair of Enfield High School graduates, Taylor Lima and Hannah Benoit, are organizing "Free Hugs For Suicide Prevention" at the Enfield Square on Saturday, Dec. 17 from noon to 4 p.m.

A post on the group's Facebook information page reads, "We're going to make T-shirts that say "Free Hugs" on the front and either messages of hope, pictures of lost loved ones, or information on suicide prevention (you can make the T-shirts yourselves as you see fit), and hand out flyers with AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) info on them. We don't all have to be at the mall, anywhere public. Stand on street corners, anywhere you won't get in trouble for being. The more people, the better! We need to take a stand and take back our town."

The Parent Leadership Association is planning a February community conversation on school climate, including bullying, dropout rates, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide, according to a post by parent Shannon Grant on the Facebook site Enfield Needs Change.

"It's time to put together a plan that works and involves all of the stakeholders in this town," Grant wrote.