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We suggest watching the two-minute video before reading the article, which contains spoilers.

In the powerful student-made video “Warning Signs,” the main character writes “I’m bored” on a table, walks alone down a bustling school hallway and scrolls aimlessly through her social media feed. Watching it, you may wish you could tap the screen, get her attention and talk to her.

About halfway through the video you learn the main character is not the one who needs help. It’s another girl—seen in the background slumped over asleep at a cafeteria table, being bullied in the hallway, and posting good-bye messages on social media. The point is clear: Subtle signs could signal a deeper depression. And, like the viewer of the video, many of us miss the signs.

“That was the intention—for people to be like ‘what? I missed that!’” said Klamath Union High School senior Mia Hidden, who made the video and entered it into the You Matter to Klamath Youth Suicide Prevention Video Contest. “My grandma is a therapist, and after she watched it, she told me how frustrated she was that she missed it. Everybody says they have to go back and watch it again.”

You Matter to Klamath is a coalition of more than 25 local agencies dedicated to eliminating youth suicide through education, awareness and community training. The annual video contest is open to all seventh through 12th graders in the Klamath Basin.

Hidden was inspired by a video made by the Sandy Hook Promise gun violence prevention group. It’s called “Evan,” and it uses a similar story twist about the warning signs of, in that case, a school shooter.

“I wanted to take that video and build off of it, because identifying warning signs are not so straightforward, right?” Hidden said. “In my video, you end up missing the signs of somebody possibly experiencing depression and thoughts of teen suicide. And sometimes it’s the little things that you look past, or you kind of ignore or brush off.”

Hidden’s video earned 1^st prize, and the 13-judge panel was unanimous.

“Mia’s video was far and away the judges’ top pick,” said Jenn Scott, contest judge and Prevention and Outreach Coordinator at Klamath Basin Behavioral Health, which cosponsored the contest. “Everyone was so impressed by it, and I had to go rewatch it because I missed everything, and that’s my job – teaching people how to recognize the signs to prevent suicide!”

You Matter to Klamath was formed in late 2018 in direct response to a high-profile youth suicide in the community. Amid a cluster of eight more youth suicides that followed in 2019, the coalition launched the annual video contest.

“We needed to do something, we needed to save our kids,” Scott said. “Because when there is a suicide, there is an increased risk for suicide in the community following that. That’s why we also work to make sure community is supported after a suicide, and if they’re not well supported, we can see more suicides.”

Since 2019, Klamath County has experienced four youth suicides, which ranged in age from 19 to 24. Scott acknowledges there have also been youth suicide attempts, some they know about and likely some they’ll never know about. The region, she says, has built-in risk factors for suicide – and the video contest has allowed the community to also celebrate strengths and protective factors.

“We’re smaller, isolated, rural, and when people experience thoughts of suicide, that isolation can be really dangerous,” Scott said. “Because you can feel like you’re alone, that there’s not a lot of help out there. We also have a pretty large farming community, as well as significant veteran and Tribal populations, all of which have historically high rates of suicide.”

Mia Hidden, the student videographer, struggles with depression herself.

“I’ve gone through it for a couple years now and learned how to manage it,” Hidden said. “I’ve had ups and downs and peaks and valleys, and so I know what it can feel like. I wanted to share that knowledge with other people.”

Hidden made the video on her iPhone and asked friends to participate. The girl who played the main character told Hidden she’s received fanfare from other students who appreciate the message.

When teens talk freely and easily about the topics of suicide and depression, it raises awareness and reduces stigma. It also helps that many schools address it so openly.

“There are resources everywhere,” Hidden said. “I mean, you walk down the hallway and there’s pamphlets… there are little sheets with tear-off numbers, and I’m very thankful for that because there’s people that that truly need it.”

The You Matter to Klamath coalition also has a youth-led subcommittee. Eight youth from two area school districts meet a few times a month, develop social media posts and create and promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention activities. They also take QPR training—Question, Persuade, Refer—which is free to the public and teaches attendees how to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide. This year the subcommittee helped rally unprecedented participation in the suicide prevention video contest, which had 13 submissions.

And it’s not just peers who benefit from the subcommittee’s work.

“We want to know… what are our kids thinking? What do they want? What’s important to them?” Scott said. “All of that influences suicide prevention work at the state and local level, and it’s really, really important.”

As for the $1,000 awarded for 1^st prize, Hidden said it’s going straight to her college fund. The 18-year-old is headed to Oregon State University’s Honors College this fall, where she will lay the groundwork for a career in large animal veterinary medicine.

Learn about OHA’s Youth Suicide Prevention work here.

Learn about QPR trainings and how to sign up here.

1^st through 5^th place winners in the 2024 You Matter to Klamath Youth Suicide Prevention Video Contest

1^st Place: “Warning Signs” by Mia Hidden, senior at Klamath Union High School
2^nd Place: “There is Always Hope” by Dallin Peterson, freshman at Klamath Union High School
3^rd Place: “You Are Not Alone” by Marion Rhine, junior at Klamath Union High School
4^th Place: “The Beauty of the Storm” by Kai Crume, senior at Henley High School
5^th Place: “A Helping Hand” by Alejandro Garcia, senior at Henley High School

(Cash prizes ranged from $50 to $1,000 and were funded with donations from the Alky Angels — Sunrise Chapter, Cascade Health Alliance, Citizens for Safe Schools, Klamath Basin Behavioral Health, and Klamath Defender Services.)

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