Suicide PSA By High School Students To Play In Local Theaters

ROCKVILLE, MD — Two student-produced public service announcements about suicide awareness and prevention will be shown at local movie theaters.

The students created the PSAs for a contest aimed at preventing teen suicide, which — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 19.

The winning clips were submitted by three Northwood High School students. They are: "Get Help" by Sophie Geiger and "See How You Can Help" by Rowan Arnold and Jay Hutchins.

Runner-up PSAs were submitted by Tommy Behrens (Hallie Wells Middle School); Joey Geehreng (Poolesville High School); Lara Ojha (Montgomery Blair High School); and ML Gentili, Morgan Lipansky and Sophie Nightingale Edwards (Hallie Wells Middle School).

"We know that teens often talk to their peers and value their perspective and that is one reason why teen ambassadors such as the students who submitted PSAs play an important role in bringing awareness to the issue of teen suicide," County Executive Marc Elrich and Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith wrote in a congratulatory letter to the students.

The winning PSAs will be shown at Regal and AMC theaters in Montgomery County through April.

They can also be seen on YouTube and below:

VIDEO: "Get Help" submitted by Sophie Geiger

VIDEO: "See How You Can Help" submitted by Rowan Arnold and Jay Hutchins

All of the submitted PSAs will be featured on social media platforms and local cable channels.

The video PSA submissions can also be viewed on YouTube.

Resources for Help

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• Crisis Text Line: Text 741741
• Maryland Crisis Connect: Call 211 and press option 1 or text 898-211
• Montgomery County Hotline: Call 301-738-2255
• Trevor Lifeline: Call 1-866-488-7386
• Trans Lifeline US: Call 1-877-565-8860 // Canada: Call 1-877-330-6366