Results in For Youth Risk Assessment Survey For Woburn Memorial High School

The results of the Youth Risk Assessment Survey taken by Woburn Memorial High School students last spring are in, and they point to pretty troubling signs.

The survey revealed that 14 percent of WMHS students had seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months, compared to 12 percent in Massachusetts and 17 percent in the United States.

“Fourteen percent of our students considering suicide is profoundly disturbing. We need an immediate, community-wide response,” School Committee member Ellen Crowley said in a statement.

Committee members voted to send the survey results to Mayor Scott Galvin and the City Council. They also want to try to combat the problem by suggesting steps such as adding a social worker at the high school and finding ways to reduce the stigma associated with receiving mental health care.

In other areas, the survey results were a little more positive. According to the survey, fewer students reported having driven a car after drinking than the Massachusetts or national averages. In Woburn, 4.6 percent of students said they had done so, compared to 7 percent in the state and 10 percent nationally.

86 percent of WMHS students participated in the survey