According to save.org there is one death every 12 minutes due to suicide in the US.  Harford County resident Linda Diaz, the CEO of LLINC, lost her daughter, Lauryn Santiago, to suicide on February 16, 2013, at age 15 only three weeks after her birthday, January 26.

     Diaz said that Santiago was raised in Prince George’s County and “was one of the most beautiful, loving, and kind [child] a mother could ever have.” Her daughter dreamed of being the youngest person to enter the 2016 Olympics and was on the honor roll. The CEO of LLINC had added that “Lauryn was the love and hope that made us all better people,”  and turned this loss into a new opportunity.

     Diaz decided to become an advocate for Mental Health awareness after getting a better understanding of her daughter.  As she began to learn more about the signs of depression, she stated, “to this day it haunts [her] as to why Lauryn’s teachers and counselors never bothered to reach out to Lauryn,” and that they never truly were aware of these signs. 

     The CEO of LLINC created two laws for the state of Maryland. She explained that the first law created is called Lauryn’s Law; the law is a requirement for the board, beginning on or before July 1 2016 to require specified certificate holders to apply for a renewal of their certificate to be a school counselor. School counselors are required to understand and respond to the social, emotional, and personal development of students. 

    The second law created is a training requirement for all certified school personnel who have contact with students on a regular basis. They are also required to understand and respond to a student who is at risk of suicide and identify resources for that student.

     The mother of Lauryn made note that kids show major signs of depression in school with the “lack of interest in sports, fear or withdrawal from bullying as well as a severe drop in grades” being just a few. She added that “desensitization needed to be removed from the adults in school, in hopes to save children’s lives.”

     Diaz mentioned that Lauryn’s Law is also a nonprofit 501(c)3 meaning it is a charitable organization and that it was created in honor of her daughter. She advocated with state legislators, attends many youth events, and speaks and conducts workshops to spread awareness about bullying and mental health. She also has a website (www.laurynslaw.org) where people are able to donate and sign up for training classes.

     The CEO stated that there are two training classes, and both do not have an age limit. The first class is an evidenced based training class for free that will provide schools, veterans and communities with suicide awareness. The second training section offered is question persuade refer (QPE) which is a 90-minute course to receive a gatekeeper certification. 

     Diaz mentioned that you are able to help. Her organization accepts donations as well as volunteers. She added that her annual Lauryn’s Law event is held at Bowie Baysox Stadium on Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 1 pm. 

Diaz’s motto is to “laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. At the end of the day they are still with you.”