After a tragic school related suicide, the same question always comes up – “Why didn’t someone do something,” or “What could have we done to help.” Well, many schools have come to realize that the problem must be tackled at the source. That would be at schools themselves. When students would find themselves stressed out or depressed, one of the only options available to them for help at the school would be their guidance counselor. Guidance counselors are trained and supposed to help students cope with suicidal thoughts. However, the problem with this is that usually the student is the one that must reach out to the guidance counselor to set up an appointment. This is a major issue in the American education system because as we have seen in the past, many scholars who have fallen to suicide never bother looking for help. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily the counselor’s job to wander the halls or search classrooms for students who may be depressed. Guidance counselors and school administration have priorities to complete, causing many of them to rarely think twice about the well-being of the students who they see daily.

This is why the best source for students coping with stress and depression are fellow classmates. Students themselves are one of the best sources of help. It is the students that are constantly surrounded by their fellow classmates every day. Students have the best chance at observing the actions of others and picking up on signs that can represent depression because students interact with each other all day long.

This is why the idea of Aevidum has been spreading and must continue to do so. Latin for “I’ve got your back,” the idea of Aevidum was created at a high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after a student died by suicide in 2003. The organization is student run and the members are students who work to seek out fellow classmates that seem depressed and stressed. A student helping another student is the best way to resolve this issue because students can relate to each other better than a student and a guidance counselor. Aevidum has been slowly expanding to school campuses all over the country and that number has been bigger than ever. The nonprofit organization has expanded to over 150 schools. This is great but this number must increase. Many students have joined Aevidum and all of them are trained to pick up on signs that may show a student is depressed. Some of them would include, reckless behavior without thinking, rage/uncontrolled anger, increased alcohol/drug use, and giving away prized possessions. Schools become a much safer place when its students are equipped with the skills to identify ones that are in need of attention. More schools must adopt Aevidum as soon as possible because students can be of better help than typical guidance counselors.