According to a new federal survey, a larger portion of high school students attempt suicide than in many other major city school systems.
According to a of students in 19 urban school districts, more than 20 percent of Cleveland students attempted suicide in 2015. Another 20 percent said they seriously considered taking their own life. Bill Denihan is CEO of the. He says the numbers are not surprising considering Cleveland鈥檚 poverty rate.
鈥淥n any one day Cleveland, Ohio could be number one, two or three in America with the poverty level. And in housing there are more children who are homeless than adults in this area. And I think those two factors are major factors that we have to be mindful of when we鈥檙e talking about this.鈥�
Cleveland school officials say the district has many effective programs that help students considering suicide. And, they add that the CDC survey鈥檚 margin of error puts Cleveland even with other high-poverty cities like Detroit and Chicago.
