RALEIGH, N.C. — Suicides among youth aged 10-17 reached a 20-year high in 2021, and one child advocate says that tally could be tied to the pandemic.  

What You Need To Know

  • According to the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force report, in 2021, there were 62 suicides among kids ages 10 to 17 in North Carolina 

  • The report shows a 46% increase in girls ages 10 to 14 being taken to emergency rooms for harming themselves 

  • The report says firearms were used in more than 70% of child suicides and homicides

Jill Cox, CEO of Communities in Schools North Carolina, says the time for action is now after the latest report by the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force, which found 62 suicides among ages 10 to 17 in North Carolina in 2021, the highest rate in two decades.  

“It makes me sad, that’s only one word I can use to describe it,” Cox said. “There was a one-month period of time where there were three students we lost to suicide.” 

Her agency provides mentors, tutors and mental health support for students.

The report by the state task force, of which Cox is a member, also found a 46% increase in girls ages 10 to 14 being taken to emergency rooms for harming themselves.  

“Even students who feel supported are desperately sad, feel very disconnected coming out of COVID,” Cox said.

The task force every year looks at deaths among children and shares its research and recommendations with legislators.

Contributing to the numbers in the 2023 report is children's access to deadly weapons, Cox says. 

“One of the most heart-rending experiences that I’ve had over the last couple of years is when we lost a young man and the young man left a sticky note for his mom to tell her where she could find his body because he was going to commit suicide,” Cox said. 

The report says that firearms were used in more than 70% of child suicides and homicides and the rate of those deaths increased rapidly the past two years, breaking with the national average. 

“I think the loss of students fuels our team, but I also think it’s very crushing, and I keep a box of tissues on my desk,” Cox said. “I use them for myself because we are all human and we need a break and you need to let yourself feel the things that are going on.”

Cox is hoping this data will inspire action. 

“We don’t have to let this be our story and I very strongly believe that we can change that dynamic if all just stand in the space to learn and understand what’s driving some of these factors of great sadness, isolation and desperation for our youth,” she said. 

The task force recommends actions the legislature can take to prevent these deaths, including funding for more social workers, school counselors and psychologists. The number of these professionals in North Carolina is far below what’s nationally recommended, according to the task force's report.