Sommer hopes by watching the new SOS Friends for Life: Preventing Teen Suicide video, other teenagers will relate to her story and get help for themselves or a friend. “I hope they realize no matter what you go through you’re never too far gone to get help and change and get better. The situation is never too bad to give up on,” says Sommer.
And her dad agrees. “If sharing the story can help other kids and parents, it’s worth it. I wish I would have had a resource like this before all this happened, it could have been helpful.” Through the new SOS Friends for Life video, Sommer and her father, a Marine Corps Colonel, tell the story of Sommer’s struggle with depression and recovery.
Sommer was in high school when she moved to a Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, DC. At that time, Sommer’s mother was in the middle of her own battle with alcohol, drugs and depression and she had abruptly left Sommer in the care of her father.
“My daughter didn’t come live with me until she was 15,” says Sommer’s father. “I didn’t have much to offer for the things she was going through. My experience was really limited to helping marines and sailors.”
But Sommer’s father still recognized that his daughter needed help, so he got her into counseling, accessing resources provided through the military. Despite the initial help, Sommer’s depression began a downward spiral and her drug and alcohol use increased. She also began cutting and was eventually suspended for bringing alcohol to school. Around that time, Sommer’s father was deployed to Afghanistan, and Sommer moved in with a trusted teacher.
“You can have the best support structure, counselors, teachers, parents–but if the person who is going through the trouble doesn’t make a conscious decision to get help, they won’t get better,” says Sommer’s father. “My daughter did that—she decided no more drugs, cutting, alcohol, I’m going to do it and I’m going to get better.”
And she did. Today, Sommer is busy making plans for the future. She has been accepted to George Mason University and is preparing to start classes this fall. Additionally, she was awarded the Beat the Odds® Scholarship—a program honoring at-risk high schools students who have overcome adversity, demonstrated academic excellence and given back to their communities.
“I won’t know the people who see the video, but even if I did, my story is a big part of my life and I’m not ashamed,” says Sommer. “I just thought that maybe telling my story would help other teenagers going through the same thing.”
Sommer’s story is just one of three stories featured in the educational DVD. The SOS Friends for Life: Preventing Teen Suicide video and discussion guide is the main teaching tool of the award-winning and nationally recognized SOS Signs of Suicide® Prevention Program for High Schools. The SOS High School program is the only school-based suicide prevention program listed on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices that addresses suicide risk and depression, while reducing suicide attempts.
Watch a Preview of Sommer’s Story