Bette Ann Buckan is in the business of saving lives, but after 25 years as a middle school guidance counselor, she knows it takes a community to prevent suicide. 

In recognition for her work, she was recently given the Maine Suicide Prevention Program 2012 Caring About Lives in Maine Award and honored at a special ceremony at the Blaine House in Augusta on Sept. 18. 

Buckan knows that despite all efforts of school staff, fellow students and family members, some decide the best and only option they have is to take their own lives. She said two of her former students committed suicide. 

Her work has also convinced people to take another path and continue to live. That is what happened the day after completing a pilot project with students through Suicide Prevention Medical Care Development, an organization that had been managing suicide prevention projects for the state. 

Buckan said the day after completing lessons on suicide prevention at the middle school, three students approached her with their concerns about a classmate. The classmate had been contemplating suicide and the students identified some warning signs. Buckan said this student is alive and well today.

Buckan received the award for her work as a volunteer on a committee to pilot the suicide prevention project and to develop a middle school curriculum. Morse High School picked up on the lessons she developed with an intern and also uses a video she helped produce titled, “A Life Saved, The Story of a Suicide Intervention.” 

Her lesson plans are designed for students in the eighth grade, but Buckan's work takes her to all grade levels where she teaches children how to deal with stress. Her lessons focus on how to recognize stress, how to handle it appropriately and recognizing inappropriate coping strategies. Some of her methods for dealing with stress include exercise, breathing techniques, yoga and positive self-talk, restructuring what a person said inside his/her head. 

“Sometimes just getting a drink of water to get out of a situation is appropriate,” she said.

These lessons lay the groundwork for all that follows and prepares students for suicide prevention strategies learned in the eighth grade.

As part of these strategies, eighth grade students have to ask the question, “are you thinking of killing yourself?” Simply asking someone if they are thinking about hurting him/herself does not go far enough, she said, because often people just want to end the pain. And ending pain is what lies behind a lot of these lessons.

Three essential lessons Buckan teaches her students are: show a person you care; stay with that person; and seek help from a trusted adult.

While males more often will not reveal their feelings, Buckan said, “It's rare when they don't give warning signs.”

Some of the signs she teaches students to look out for are: a change in behavior, lack of communication, giving away possessions and risky behavior.

“We want kids to recognize these warning signs and show that they care,” she said. 

Buckan practices with her students during the in-class guidance sessions, where she plays the part of someone contemplating suicide. She said this gives students the chance to be proactive.

This time in their education is important in addressing the issue of suicide, Buckan said. Since Woolwich Central School teaches children from Kindergarten though eighth grade, there is a large support network where most students have gotten to know the teachers, school staff and their peers. 

When students leave this environment to attend high school they encounter a new atmosphere, people and social situations. Buckan feels the groundwork students learn in the eighth grade better prepares them for the future.