Oakland County to Host Teen Suicide Forum Monday in Birmingham

This Monday, learn a little more about teen suicide at a special panel hosted by Oakland County in Birmingham.

The panel of experts from the Rose Hill Center, Common Ground, Oakland County Health Department and the Oakland County Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force will discuss the signs, symptoms and other risk factors of suicide.

The panel, which lasts from 7-9 p.m., will take place at the Holy Name Catholic Church, in the parish hall, in Birmingham.

The panel is free and according to organizers, open to all county residents but especially appropriate for parents and students in junior high and high school.

According to the panel's organizers, the forum is being held in response from several requests from area families whose communities have been impacted by suicide over the past few months.

During the forum, attendees will also learn about the role social media can play in suicide prevention and what is being done locally to address the issue of youth suicide. A question-and-answer session will follow.

Youth suicide has found itself in the spotlight in Birmingham in recent years. In February 2011, a 17-year-old Cranbrook student jumped from a downtown Birmingham apartment building, prompting the Kensington Community Church — which has a campus at Birmingham's Groves High School — to hold a .

To learn more the Rose Hill Center, a psychiatric rehabilitation center in Holly, visit www.rosehillcenter.org. For more on Common Ground, visit www.commongroundhelps.org. And for more information about the Oakland County Health Department, as well as the Oakland County Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force, visit www.oakgov.com/health.