From Tragedy, Laura Found Her
Purpose
 By
Jeana Walter, PR Director, KY Methodist Home
"Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death
in Kentucky's youth age 15-24?" said Laura Simmons, President of Yellow
Ribbon Kentucky. "Kentucky loses more kids to suicide than homicide." (2002
data gathered from Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Families..)
Laura is passionate about her cause—teen
suicide prevention. She can recite many statistics. But the most amazing
part about Laura, is a personal story of tremendous tragedy and triumph.
Laura's grandmother was the caretaker of the family until Laura was about
age 10, when her grandmother's Alzheimer's forced the children to rely
on her mother, instead.
Before Laura became a teenager, she was familiar with rescuing her mother
from multiple attempts at suicide from overdose of prescription drugs.
Each attempt, Laura and her brother did their best to keep their mother
from self-destruction.
But Laura's life changed dramatically at age 13, when she found her brother
dead in his bedroom. He committed suicide after using heroin. Laura was
stunned.
Her family believed his death should be erased from memory—refusing
to acknowledge his existence even today. Her mother's parental rights were
terminated and all of her siblings were removed from home.
"I had no father to turn to," said Laura. She blamed herself and sought
answers from the only people who would talk about him...her brother's
friends. That was the first time she tried cocaine.
At age 15, Laura arrived at the Methodist Children's Home after completing
a drug treatment program at another facility. "I hated this place
when I got here. I tried running away and I was on suicide watch for a
while, too, said Laura. Now I realize how much I learned here, especially
in SIGNALS class [drug prevention curriculum]."
"In SIGNALS class it was like an adult conversation about drugs, without
judgment. I remember suddenly making a connection when I saw
a graph (see drug tolerance chart) which explained how I felt. It showed the
first time use of a drug is the highest peak. With each use of the same drug
the peak decreases—until
eventually, the peak is lower than feeling normal. So then the
drug must be used to maintain normal function. The goal of every drug user is
to re-experience the same high as their very first time, but it will never
happen." 
Lane
Stonecypher, author of SIGNALS, remembers Laura in his class. "After
teaching hundreds of students, Laura still stands out. She was so bright, she
often intimidated adults. She wanted answers and was determined to find her
own voice and meaning. Laura is a natural activist and advocate—just
like she was as a teen."
At school, Laura was an excellent student. She graduated from the Methodist
Home program in only ten and a half months. Afterwards, her foster mother
adopted her. In high school, she even wrote articles for the Herald-Leader
newspaper's Teen Writers Board.
Today, Laura is a third-year college student. After two years at Berea
College, she is now at UK studying physiology. In addition, Laura has
found her passion, as President/CEO of Yellow
Ribbon Kentucky—a teen suicide
prevention organization.
Laura and her staff will become SIGNALS instructors in April. She will be
the first SIGNALS student to become an instructor. Contact Lane Stonecypher
859-509-4313 or email lane@signalsprogram.com
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