From Tragedy, Laura Found Her Purpose
By Jeana Pillion Walter

"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