Local News
After 13 suicide attempts, La Crosse’s juvenile detention center asks for more help
The number nearly doubled from attempts made in 2016.
La Crosse County’s juvenile detention center has had 13 suicide attempts since the start of 2017.
That number is about twice as many as all of last year.
That increase has led juvenile management to ask the county to hire more staff members for the facility, which currently houses 13 juveniles aged between 10 and 17.
“The more people that we have to be able to sit and talk with kids and be able to process things with kids, the more we feel we’ll really be able to respond preventatively,” Justice support manager Mandy Bisek said. “We have kids who are higher risks with much higher needs, coming to us with a bigger trauma background, more mental health diagnosis, that really need significant attention.”
There were apparently three suicide attempts in one week back in December.
The county juvenile facility was just expanded in the last few months.
Bisek says the biggest change was to develop a new outdoor recreation area, where the teens can play ball or spend time in a garden.
Dr. GwenEllyn Anderson
May 23, 2017 at 6:32 pm
I’m so glad that the County is looking for more help on this. We know (research tells us) that the younger generation is very isolated emotionally despite internet interactions. They are more prone to depression and the two – depression and isolation – lead to suicide. We’re going to have to look at more than the justice system for help with this generation – schools are going to have to be aware and provide services, too.