Mike Mickle's family has been indirectly touched by suicide, and he wants to help ensure that no more families have to experience it.
President of Mickle Communications, a marketing and video production company, and publisher of QC Family Focus, Mr. Mickle is premiering an hour-long documentary, "If You Only Knew: The Journey through Teen Depression and Suicide." It will air at 8 p.m. today on WQPT-TV, as part of a night of programming devoted to the topic.
“The issue of teen depression and suicide is a community crisis that needs to be addressed, and we wanted to initiate the conversation in the Quad-Cities,” Mr. Mickle said.
"The mission of our magazine, QC Family Focus, is to promote healthy, happy families. Our Quad-Cities communities need to learn about and address these issues before more young lives are lost.”
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His 16-year-old daughter Kate knew Morgan Schmidt, who was 12 when she took her own life at her family's Bettendorf home April 6, 2014. Mr. Mickle's 13-year-old Matt knows her younger brother.
"When something like that goes through your school district, it hits home," he said. "Experts say while bullying might be the final straw for the child suffering depression, it's not the only thing. Depression is becoming widespread — influenced by everything from social media to pressure to succeed at a younger age, parents pushing their children."
Just this past week, a local family buried their teenage boy, who took his life, Mr. Mickle said.
Suicide, which took 42,773 lives in the U.S. in 2014, (more than homicide) is the third-leading cause of death for teenagers, ages 12 to 18, according to HealthResearchFunding.org.
In 2014, 2,259 young Americans ages 10 to 19 killed themselves, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Healthychildren.org reports that at least 90 percent of teens who commit suicide have some type of pre-existing condition, such as depression, anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem. They may also have problems at school or with friends or family.
“The documentary will explore the many reasons behind teen suicide,” Mr. Mickle said, “so families, schools and even workplaces can be aware of the warning signs. Like any problem, the more people know about it, the more they can do to prevent it.”
"What a teen wants, they don't want to die; they just want the pain to go away," he said. "The days of waiting for warning signs are gone," Mr. Mickle said of prevention. "We need to sit down, ask your child, 'How are you feeling? Have ever thought about killing yourself?' (Experts) say if you're going to ask that question, you have to be prepared how you respond."
Parents shouldn't dismiss their child's feelings, or freak out about it, but support them unconditionally, he said. Another family featured in Mr. Mickle's film lost their teenage son in 1999 — Dawn and Brad Knutson, of Davenport, who formed a yellow ribbon campaign and head the Scott County Suicide Prevention Task Force.
WQPT programming tonight starts at 7 p.m. with “The Cities with Jim Mertens," which includes an interview with Christine Schmidt, Morgan's mother, who's also featured in "If We Only Knew." At 7:30 p.m., "The Whitney Reynolds Show" talks with Dr. Edmond Yomtoob, as well as Cara Levinson, who also lost her daughter to suicide.
At 9 p.m., a 30-minute roundtable discussion, "Teens Talk," will include input from nine area teens. The filmed talk (moderated by Mr. Mickle) includes a UnityPoint-Trinity clinical psychologist, Dr. Sam Moreno, as well as two young survivors — one who contemplated suicide and one who attempted it.
"They've gone on to get help, and are living productive lives," Mr. Mickle said.
At 9:30 p.m., WQPT will air "Losing Lambert: A Journey Through Survival & Hope," about Lambert Hillman, a 16-year-old who died after jumping into a Pennsylvania river in 1995. The documentary won three regional Emmy Awards in 2010. It will be followed by "The Misunderstood Epidemic: Depression" at 10 p.m.
“It is our hope that by devoting the night to this topic, we can help to provide resources to families dealing with depression,” said Lora Adams, WQPT director of marketing and local content.
“We have all experienced the sadness of opening a newspaper and seeing that a young person has taken this path. It is heartbreaking, but if there is an opportunity to show them and their parents that there is help close by, we are glad to do that," she said.
Today, mayors of five major communities in the Quad-Cities will meet to sign a proclamation declaring March 31 to be Quad-Cities Teen Suicide Prevention Day. The signing will be at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center, 2021 State St., Bettendorf, at 8:30 a.m.
“The signing of this proclamation will send out a powerful message to our community’s young people, and that message is: We care and we are listening," Mr. Mickle said.
