[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8249-S8250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SAFE SCHOOLS IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise to speak about ``A Beautiful Here,'' 
a memoir by Linda Phillips that chronicles her struggle to overcome the 
extraordinary grief of losing her son, Nuci, to suicide following his 
long battle with depression.
  Linda writes about an empathetic, caring, and happy child who grows 
increasingly distressed through adolescence. Nuci retreated from their 
close-knit family and, despite their efforts to support him through 
several periods of crisis and treatments, he succumbed to his disease.
  Though the family was distraught and heartbroken by Nuci's death, 
Linda Phillips was also appalled at the lack of supports for 
individuals struggling with suicide and for families who have lost 
loved ones to depression.
  At multiple points, Nuci failed to receive services or the 
compassionate support he needed. Indeed, after calling a crisis hotline 
while in college, Nuci was taken into custody by police and placed in 
handcuffs. Ultimately, the incident resulted in his expulsion. On 
another occasion, he was told to wait over a month for services when 
seeking support for his depression while in school.
  Linda also saw other families pull their children from much-needed 
treatment programs because they could not afford the costly care. She 
saw firsthand that survivors of suicide are often relegated to the 
shadows, met by uncomfortable silence, or blamed for their loved ones' 
deaths.
  Linda's personal account sheds light on this tragic and pervasive 
problem. Though Nuci Phillips took his own life 20 years ago, his 
story, sadly, remains just as relevant today.
  The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that nearly 
36,000 American's die by suicide each year; that is one American every 
15 minutes. According to the Center for Disease Control, CDC, suicide 
is the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages 
of 10 and 24 and results in approximately 4,600 lives lost each year.
  In recent years, a shocking number of young people have attempted or 
ended their life through suicide as a result of bullying. Though not 
all instances of bullying lead to suicide, bully victims are between 
two to nine times more likely to consider suicide than nonvictims, 
according to studies by Yale University.
  Nearly one in four students aged 12 to 18 are affected by bullying 
and harassment, according to recent data from the Department of 
Education. Another Department study estimates that 60,000 students in 
the U.S. do not attend school each day because they fear being bullied. 
Bullying and harassment are a significant problem in our schools.
  These are issues that we can begin to address today by confronting 
bullying in our schools through strong antibullying policies. In far 
too many communities, whether in Pennsylvania or across the Nation, we 
are forced to deal with tragic consequences of bullying or harassment 
when these policies or organizations do not exist. Other resources 
include school counselors and crisis hotlines.
  My bill, the Safe Schools Improvement Act, may not prevent all 
incidences of bullying, but it is an important step in the direction of 
tackling this problem and holding school districts accountable.
  Depression and suicide, whether brought on by bullying or not, is a 
serious disease with potentially deadly results. More teenagers and 
young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, 
birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease 
combined.

[[Page S8250]]

  We must fight against this destructive illness by ensuring all 
children and young adults have access to affordable and effective 
mental health treatment and services, such as counseling, medication, 
and crisis intervention. I would like to thank Linda Phillips for 
sharing her story and helping to shine a light on this pervasive 
disease.

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