Have you ever been asked, "How can you possibly do what you do?" I have been asked that question scores of times. Friends, colleagues and even family members will say. "How on earth can you ask people for money?" "It’s easy," I reply, when you believe in the cause." Last fall at their annual meeting, Funeral Service Foundation (FSF) trustees went through an important exercise in planning. Trustees began to hone in on priorities for our grants program.

This is an exercise that they will continue to go through as our funds grow and our grant making capabilities build. And it is an exciting productive time. It is a time when trustees can discuss how to make a difference in funeral service and on behalf of funeral service. Acting within the framework of the foundation’s four-point mission-career and profession development, the support of profession, public awareness and education, and improving children lives-the trustees began discussing what was particularly troubling or concerning to funeral service. In the area of "improving children’s lives," FSF choose teen suicide prevention as one of the foundation’s interest areas. As our chair, Chris Barrott of Aurora casket, said "Funeral Directors in particular know how devastating the suicide of a young person can be." No further comment needed. Researching the topic of teen suicide prevention led me to uncover some compelling facts. More than 20 percent of high-school students surveyed in 2001 had considered attempting suicide during the previous year.

As the priorities of our country’s public-health system have shifted, making suicide prevention goal 1.1 of the 2003 President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, it is time to get to the bottom of what is troubling our youth and, as a first step, to identify those who might be at risk. Early this summer, based on last fall’s decision, FSF trustees selected the Teen Screen Program of Columbia University as the recipient of this year’s Children’s Fund award. Teen Screen needs our help. A handful of private foundations have supported this effort. Teen Screen receives no government funding and, importantly, no support from pharmaceutical companies. I am proud to see funeral service contribute to working on a critical cause on a nation level.

The selection of Teen Screen as the 2005 Children’s Fund grantee was a careful process overseen by committee and board members of FSF. Children’s Fund recipients are highly credible national children’s organizations focused on alleviating pain or conflict, currently supported by a national organization with interests similar to or that complement the interests of FSF, and with the ability of opportunity to publicly acknowledge the funeral service community. "The supporters of the Funeral Service Foundation have a unique insight into the suffering that undiagnosed mental illness can cause a family that losses a loved one to suicide," responded Laurie Flynn, director of Teen Screen. "We are touched by your interest in helping to prevent youth suicides through screenings and happy to partner with you to share knowledge about the importance of early identification of mental disorders. " The goal of the Columbia University Teen Screen Program is to ensure that all parents are offered the opportunity for their teens to receive a voluntary mental health check up.

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