As the parents of Morgan Beverly, who took her life on January 25, we want to pay tribute to our beloved daughter and impart what we hope will be something good from this unspeakable tragedy.
First, we want to thank our family, friends and those in the community we don't even know, who offered such support during this time of grief. Thank you for the food, flowers, cards and letters, and notes on Facebook; they are greatly appreciated. These acts of kindness and compassion helped us through the worst week of our lives, and they continue to give us comfort today.
Morgan had a lot of friends; evident by the number of people attending her viewing and funeral. I doubt she fully realized how many considered her a good friend and the extent to which people cared about her, but she always admitted she had many friends. No one can truly understand why Morgan took her own life, nor should we try; rather we are asking the community to band together to do something good as a result.
We have decided to create a foundation in Morgan's honor that will fund educational programs for teenagers experiencing similar feelings. For those contemplating suicide or those who may need to reach out and counsel a friend in a disheartened state of mind.
Morgan was not the first teenager in this community who chose to end her own life, and, unfortunately, she may not be the last. It is time for us to come together and give our time and money to subsidize essential programs that can be presented on a consistent basis - not just during a crisis situation.
We will be asking communities, local small businesses, and large corporations to help provide funding for this most necessary foundation. We may never hear the testimonies from students these programs save, but we are certainly aware of the stories of young people who have sadly been lost.
For more information on the foundation, email kimberlybeverly@yahoo.com.
Morgan Beverly saved at least two of her friends from committing suicide. She talked one friend off a bridge and saw him through counseling, and talked the other out of her suicidal plans.
But last month, on Jan. 25, the 16-year-old Annapolis resi- dent and former Severna Park and Broadneck High School student took her own life.
"We were all home, there was no clue for us," said Kimberly Beverly, Morgan's mother. The Beverly family moved from Severna Park to Annapolis in 2006.
Now Kimberly Beverly and her husband, Wayne Beverly, are using their own grief to try to save the lives of other suicidal teenagers.
"Morgan was very full of life. I can't not do something," Kimberly Beverly said.
The Morgan Beverly Suicide Prevention Foundation will raise funds for prevention pro grams at county schools, work to increase parental awareness, and offer a safe place for distraught teens or their friends to come for help, Beverly said.
"I knew I had to do some- thing for (Morgan) and for these kids, I guess keeping her close to us. I can't just turn my back," she said.
In the days and weeks since Morgan's death, Beverly has received countless notes and e-mails and viewed numerous facebook comments posted by Morgan's friends and acquaintances; some are sharing their own struggles with suicidal thoughts or asking for help talking to their friends. "This is what the kids are dealing with," Kimberly Bev- erly said.
"That's why we need to do it now, while everybody's think- ing about it and raw about it."
A friend is helping to create a website for the foundation that will include information about how to find help.
"If somebody is talking about (suicide), where's safe for them to turn?" Beverly asked, mentioning an email she received from a girl who didn't know what to say to her suicidal friend.
"What is she going to do? Where will she turn?" Beverly asked.
In an effort to make the site "safe," she will ask high school students to help create it.
"I really want this foundation to be them making it work," she said. "The foundation in part is to help get the kids to speak up."
Kimberly Beverly is concerned that teenagers rarely turn to their parents when they are in a crisis and that parents easily the warning signs.
"A lot of parents don't want to talk about it," she said. "We have to do something, we have to talk about it, we have to scream about it."
One parent recently thanked Beverly for helping open a conversation about suicide with their teens.
"We've talked to them about drugs or sex, but we never talked about that," the parent told Beverly.
"(Parents) really need to listen to the kids," Beverly said. "It may not necessarily be their child talking about suicide, but it could be their (child's) best friend."
One of the foundation's first focuses is to raise the money needed for suicide prevention programs at county high schools.
"The first thing people say is 'oh, the program is expensive,"' Beverly said. "The first thing we need is funds."
In the meantime, Beverly is networking with her daughter's friends on Facebook; when one student wrote a despondent note on Morgan's memory page, Beverly immediately drove to his house to check on him.
"The sun will shine tomorrow, that's a hard message to get across to these kids," she said. "They don't understand that (suicide) is permanent."
"I wanted to speak to those kids and tell them it's going to get better," she said. "The kids were just so sad, and I didn't want any of them to do that because of what happened."
Morgan Beverly was an artist who loved to paint or make chalk drawings on her bedroom ceiling, and dreamed of being a hair designer.
She designed jewelry around the peace sign; that will now be the design on the foundation's website.
She spent most of her life in Severna Park, growing up with a brother, Kyle, and sister, Mason.
"We're a local family, we're are right in the middle of the community," Beverly said. "I want people to know it could happen to them."
For information about the foundation or to help, e-mail Kimberlybeverly@yahoo.com. Donations may be made to The Morgan Beverly Suicide Prevention Foundation at any BB&T Bank branch.
Kimberly and Wayne Beverly, parents of Morgan Beverly, a teenager that passed away on Jan. 25, started the Morgan Beverly Suicide Prevention Foundation in February to make an impact on the community and try to help those with suicidal thoughts or those who were affected by a suicide.
Suicide is something that no one wants to be associated with or talk about. Unfortunately, due to recent events, it's necessary to bring it up. "We have to scream about it right now because Morgan wasn't the first one to commit suicide," said Ms. Beverly.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in children between the ages of 10 and 19. There have been five youth suicides in Anne Arundel County since July which have affected hundreds of people.
The website www.MorganBeverlyFoundation.com is still under construction, but it will be running in the near future.
Beverly said, "I want to gear it towards the teens. I want the teens to help write the language and stuff we put on there because you guys own it. It's something you can understand and feel comfortable going to. I want to appeal to somebody who feels like Morgan did who can go on there and have numbers to call, or stories to read, whatever we decide to put on the website."
Beverly also hopes to encourage teens to speak up if they feel that someone they know is considering ending his or her life.
"We need to help open the communication for children and parents, so the child who somebody is confiding in can say something to [an adult] and feel safe about it," she said.
As stated on the website, the main purpose of the foundation is to help hgh schools afford suicide prevention programs. "We can write them a check and give that school money to do something," said Beverly.
The foundation will try to persuade teens to speak up or ask for help. Health teacher Bruce Villwock said, "I think it's very important that students understand that asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. They have to trust us, and we hope they'll see the light at the end of the tunnel or the silver lining in the dark clouds."
In December, Severna Park began their S.T.A.R (Students Taking Actions Responsibly) program, which was begun to raise awareness of suicide. Brandi Care, a former Severna Park student who attempted suicide several years ago by jumping off the Bay Bridge, came and spoke to the students. She is grateful to have a second chance, and she expresses that to them.
There was also another speaker, Justin Lookadoo. According to the Severna Pwk newsletter, Lookadoo spent the past 17 years as a juvenile probation officer and a crime and drug prevention specialist. "He didn't speak unpleasantly, he involved the audience and brought kids up on stage," said Dr. Margaret Cannon, Broadneck's school psychologist.
After the students listened to the speakers, they broke up into small groups to discuss academic pressures, troubling home life and other stressful factors.
Students need someone to talk to, especially now. "Before this year, we had not had a suicide with a student who was here before, and it has such a powerful effect on everyone. It's like a boat that runs through the water. It leaves a wake," said Cannon.
The speaker costs $4,000 and some schools don't have the funds to make it possible to have the speaker. With the Foundation's help, schools could hire speakers to talk about important issues such as suicide.
Villwock has concerns about the idea of a speaker coming to Broadneck. "I think we'd have to be careful due to the fact that this is such a sensitive topic. And we have to make sure the person is addressing the teenage issues solely," he said.
The county has also taken action to call attention to this problem by sending home a letter about suicide on March 3. The letter lists warning signs that could point to suicidal thoughts. The signs are similar to normal teenager behavior, so if one could distinguish one from the other, the back of the letter lists hotlines they could call and websites they could visit to help deal with these thoughts. The letter can be found on aacps.org along with links to helpful resources.
This letter was read to all students in school and they were told to take it home to show parents. But many of the letters didn't get anywhere near the homes of students. They simply got thrown into the nearest trashcan or recycling bin. A phone call was made to every student's house the day the letter was sent home, but many parents still didn't see it.
Beverly said, "I read it in my kindergartener's book bag. They don't bring it home. I think the letter should have been mailed. I'm glad they did it, but nine times out of ten, this letter doesn't get where it needs to be and parents are so busy, they don't read it."
Cannon said, "You can get out of that box of helplessness and hopelessness and get a fresh start."
Friends and loved ones struggle to cope after a suicide.
It's apparent that the recent suicides of Taylor Goetzke and Morgan Beverly have affected the entire Broadneck community.
"There are of people who knew them and were affected by the suicides , but even people who didn't have a relationship with them, I think they're affected too," said Shannon Poore, who was a good friend of both Taylor Goetzke and Morgan Beverly.
The suicides have served as a wake-up call to the school but how are friends and loved ones affected after the suicides?
Experiencing the tragedy of a suicide can be devastating. Many people suffer a variety of emotions after the loss of their loved one.
Feelings of sadness, anger, denial and regret fill their minds as they try to come to peace with what happened.
Susan Goetzke, an English teacher at Broadneck as well as the aunt of the late Taylor Goetzke, still experiences these emotions. "At first, I couldn't believe it. [My family and I] went through the whole denial thing. We thought, 'Maybe it's not him.' We still can't believe it. He always seemed like a happy guy," said Mrs. Goetzke.
Poore has also had a hard time overcoming such emotions. "It's been pretty terrible since July. I've been seeing a counselor and psychiatrist every week since Taylor took his life," said Poore.
People handle their emotions differently and everyone decides how they'll come to peace with the situation.
Some people overcome their emotions by sharing stories and experiences about their loss with others. For many, just talking to people about the suicide is helpful.
"It's sad to see his parents; I don't think his dad will ever be happy again. I don't worry about Taylor, he's fine. But his parents, they'll always be sad about it," said Mrs. Goetzke.
There is no doubt that the lives of Morgan Beverly and Taylor Goetzke will always be remembered. Their suicides have been especially difficult for their close friends and loved ones.
Kaitlyn Mack, a 2008 graduate of Severna Park High School who was one of Morgan's good friends, said, "I'd like to think that these tragic events can only turn into something positive for the sake of everyone else who may be contemplating their life. I hope that it will help at least a few people, if not many more. As hard as life can really be, suicide just isn't the answer."
The suicides have also had a negative impact on students at our school. Some students are more depressed as they struggle to overcome the loss of their peers.
"When you have something on your mind and you think about it over and over again, you can definitely become depressed,sometimes even suicidal," Said Poore.
Broadneck's school psychologist, Dr. Margaret Cannon has also seen an increase in the number of students who are depressed and are having thoughts of suicide.
"There's always a way out of suicide, sometimes they just don't see it. But if they talked to someone and communicated their problems, we'd be able to belp. We can't prevent a suicide if we don't know that kids are thinking about it. But we cannot be afraid of [suicide], we have to acknowledge it and try to help everyone who may be affected," said Cannon.