BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Schools across the region are working to deal with the complex problem of suicide, including the relentless onslaught of messages students can often face online. It’s a problem one area family knows all too well.
“Spunky, so outgoing, loved to dance,” said Heather Miller, reflecting on her daughter, 14-year-old Isabelle Vezina-Dykema. “She was excited about the school year, excited about being a freshman. ‘I’m finally in high school, I’m not going to let things bother me, I’m going to succeed, and…”
Isabelle was in her first year at the Mill School in Winooski, an alternative high school for students with complex needs. Her mother says she was the victim of constant bullying, receiving text messages making fun of her, her mother’s health, and more. On September 15, Miller says Isabelle came home from school upset. She gave her space to decompress, but that day it reached a breaking point. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but in 35 minutes our whole lives changed,” Miller said.
Isabelle took her own life.
Experts say oftentimes youth feel it’s the only way to escape. “Very much our adolescents not only feel things in extremes, they also feel like now will be forever. They may have this really strong emotion and feel trapped,” said Matt Wolf with the nonprofit Vermont Afterschool.
There was at least one suicide death per year in Vermont among 13 to 14-year-olds between 2019 and 2023, but experts say it’s becoming more frequent. The most recent data from the Vermont Department of Mental Health shows more than a third of high school students in the state experience poor mental health and that only half feel they matter to people in their community.
“That is a cause of alarm for me because that means that close to half of high school students feel like they don’t matter,” said the department’s Chris Allen.
Wolf and others say the approach in schools needs to change to combat mental health and bullying challenges. “Our bullies are calling for help or crying out for help in the only way they know. I think if we address them in more of a therapeutic way, more of a concerning way instead of a punitive way, we might actually get somewhere to reduce bullying,” he said.
The Mill School says they are investigating the claims of bullying but wouldn’t elaborate. In a statement, officials say “We, at the mill school, have been devastated by the loss of one of our students. We are working with the appropriate agencies and continue to provide counseling support.”
Miller says her family will hold a celebration of life event for Isabelle this weekend at Water Works Park in Burlington.