If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
A suburban mother is grieving the loss of her 10-year-old daughter to suicide, saying she never saw any signs leading up to the tragedy.
How can you catch something you didn’t see? It’s a question Mayolita Gaines keeps asking herself.
Her life has been a blur since last week, when her daughter Harmony Rose was found unresponsive outside the family’s home. It happened just before 10 p.m. last Tuesday in the 5000 block of Country Place in Waukegan.
Authorities determined that there was no foul play. Harmony had taken her own life, just days after celebrating her 10th birthday.
“We don’t believe Harmony meant to do it,” her mom said. “I think it was an accident. There were no signs. None.”
Mayolita wonders if her daughter was copying something she had seen on social media.
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“There is another young boy, same birthday as Harmony. I spoke with his dad, and we both said the same thing. That it's a possibility of something that they're seeing on social media.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says suicide is now the second leading cause of death for young people between 10 to 24.
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“It is a tragedy when any child loses their life to suicide,” Dr. Aron Janssen of Lurie Children's Hospital said. “It's a preventable type of death and our goal is to better understand why it's happening more often in kids under 18, and what we can do to stop it. Screening is one of the biggest opportunities we have to prevent death by suicide in our community. I think our fear of asking the question in a wrong way is stopping us from asking the question at all. What we know is that when kids are asked questions about feeling suicidal, they feel affirmed, they feel supported, and they're likely to enter answer honestly and thus be able to be connected here.”
He also says 988, the national hotline for suicide prevention, can help parents and anyone dealing with a mental health crisis.
Harmony Rose was a 4th grader at Prairie Trails Elementary in Waukegan, and she turned 10 on Feb. 16. The family has started an online fundraiser to help cover funeral expenses.
"I wake up in the middle of the night, just hoping for a sign from her," she said. "All I want is my baby back. But I know it's not going to happen."
