A panel of community organisations engaged learners at Realogile Secondary School on September 10, raising awareness about suicide and substance abuse.

Ethan Madula, founder of the Lesedi Youth Batho Foundation, said the engagement followed the recent death by suicide of a local high school learner and coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day. Madula said the initiative aimed to relieve the pressures many learners carry unsupported. “We came here to help learners with mental health issues,” he said. “This engagement will help ease the pressure off their shoulders. The stakeholders came with their resources that can help learners with counselling, and more programmes. Talking with them will obviously change something in their mind and ultimately, their behaviour.”

Read more: Whatsapp helpline aimed at youth substance abuse

He said the campaign aimed to prevent further learner suicides by addressing underlying factors such as unemployment, trauma, and gender-based violence, a framing consistent with government’s assessment of the crisis.

Mpho Meyers, Alexandra co-ordinator for the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca), addressed the relationship between substance use and suicide risk. “Learners smoke things they do not understand and end up making wrong decisions when they are highly inebriated or high on drugs. They only realise when the drugs wear off that they made mistakes that they cannot fix, and they end up committing suicide.” She said avoiding substance use preserves young people’s capacity to make sound decisions.

Jonas Mophosho, a representative of the Khomanani Support Group and a recovering alcohol abuser, said engagements of this kind are increasingly necessary for young people in the area. “When you are intoxicated, you do not have control over yourself,” Mophosho said. “When you are high, you are not in control of yourself. The substances are in control, and they dictate what happens. They dictate your behaviour and decisions.”

Also read: Substance abuse on the rise in SA

The dialogue took place against a backdrop of increasing substance use in Alexandra high schools, reflecting a broader national pattern. According to the department of women, youth and persons with disabilities, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among South Africans aged 15 to 29. In a parliamentary reply earlier this year to African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula, the department placed the national suicide rate at 23.5 per 100 000 people, citing the figures in calling for strengthened, co-ordinated support systems, including expanded school-based prevention programmes.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) operates a 24-hour helpline at 0800 567 567.

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