Father, friends of Portsmouth teen who died by suicide testify for suicide prevention bill

PROVIDENCE — Rick Bruno opened his eyes at 6:19 a.m. on Wednesday, the day he was scheduled to testify before House and Senate committees on legislation that was spurred by his son’s death.

Nathan Bruno’s birthday is 6/19.

“I can’t help but think today there are no coincidences,” Bruno said before members of the Senate Committee on Education as he testified in support of the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act.

Nathan Bruno, 15, died by suicide on Feb. 7, 2018. His friends, friends of his father, an attorney, educators and suicide prevention experts flooded the committee chambers to voice their support for the bill’s passage.

The legislation is modeled after the Jason Flatt Act, which already is in place in several states. It was first passed in 2007 in Tennessee and requires all educators in that state to complete two hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training each year.

Jason Flatt died by suicide in 1997 at age 16. Wednesday would have been his 38th birthday, Bruno said to the committee members.

The House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare also heard from supporters of the Nathan Bruno and Jason Flatt Act on Wednesday night.

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Terri Cortvriend, D-Portsmouth, on Feb. 27 and in the Senate by Sen. Dawn Euer, D-Newport, on March 14.

The legislation would require all public school personnel — including, but not limited to, teachers, administrators, custodians, lunch personnel, substitutes, nurses and coaches — to undergo suicide awareness and prevention training. The legislation would also establish a conflict resolution process for school personnel and students.

Each public school district, under the law, would be required to adopt a policy on student suicide prevention. The policies would include the following provisions:

• Parents or legal guardians would be notified as soon as there’s an issue between their child and school personnel in order to create a “safety net” for the student relating to suicide prevention.

• Districts would create clear complaint processes for general education students or their parent(s) or legal guardian(s). The complaint process would be used when a student or his or her guardian feels the school committed a misdeed or violated a right; it would be modeled after the current guidelines in place for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), according to the legislation.

• Guidance counselors would instead be called “academic advisors.” The law stipulates that ”[i]f the staff member provides social emotional support for students for more than 60 percent of their work time, the staff shall be considered social emotional support staff[.]”

• “Concrete language” would be developed to define in-school and out-of-school issues.

• Clear employee conduct policies and regulations would be established “for when school personnel are involved with a student with whom they have had a prior incident that has caused a fracture in their relationship.”

“Last year, my only child, Nathan Bruno, died by suicide,” Bruno said. “It’s my belief that my son died in despair and hopelessness over a situation that could have and should have been handled differently by school staff.”

“When my son died on February 7, 2018, I had only been notified a week earlier about an issue with school staff that had occurred outside of school” but that had been “ongoing in school” since January, 2018, Bruno said. “That issue involved a coach, school administration and law enforcement. I had no idea that any issue existed.”

“Without my knowledge or involvement, the school held a meeting with Nathan, meetings about Nathan and made educational decisions including a schedule change. As a result of staff holding meetings with and about Nathan at school, he was ostracized and bullied by his peers without any safety net being implemented to protect his socio-emotional well-being,” Bruno said as he read from his written testimony.

At the time, school counselors and social-emotional staff didn’t check in with Nathan because they were not aware of any issues Nathan had with school staff, Bruno said.

“It is my deepest hope that the passing of this act will save the lives of other students,” he said.

Other supporters shared their stories of loss and pushed for the legislation. Deaven Piermont, a senior at Portsmouth High School, lost her grandmother to suicide when she was a sophomore.

“I was not the girl I was when I left school that Friday, came back on Monday,” Piermont said before the committees. “The stigma behind suicide is just so unnecessary ... we need training.”

Lauren Gablinske of Boston lost her brother to suicide in 2011. There was a hint of emotion in her eyes, but she spoke with ferocity. She talked about seeing his car in the driveway after he died, and his shampoo in the shower.

“This bill is of utmost importance to help save lives,” Gablinske said. She’s the director of community education and outreach with Samaritans, an organization that provides suicide prevention services. Gablinske saw an article in The Providence Journal about the legislation, and wanted to speak of her experiences teaching students and educators about suicide awareness and prevention.

Steven Peterson, executive director of Be Great for Nate Inc. and program director of Every Student Initiative, said members of the organizations have been working on the proposed legislation for over a year.

The Every Student Initiative, a group of mostly Portsmouth High School students that formed in the wake of Nathan’s death, falls under the umbrella of Be Great for Nate Inc., an organization started by Bruno with a mission to assist youths in exploring their interests and providing healthy social and emotional development and support within communities and among their peers.

“We’re failing our youth,” Peterson said, citing climbing suicide rates across the country. Four out of five teenagers display clear warning signs before they attempt suicide, he added. With the legislation, “we can stop the attempts.”

Wearing navy blue “Be Great for Nate” tee shirts, Owen Ross, a junior and president of ESI, and Marcus Evans, a freshman and president of the 2022 Subcommittee for ESI, touted the importance of the law in helping to snuff teen suicide in the state.

Evans touched on a particular stipulation of the law: guidance counselors should have their titles changed to academic advisors. “The label of guidance or school counselor can be extremely misleading” for teenagers looking for emotional support, he said.

“The time for talk is over,” Evans added. “We must now take action.”

Kevin Vendituoli, a Newport-based attorney and board member of Be Great for Nate Inc., noted a “systemic problem that needs to be addressed.”

Fran Roy, a “lifelong educator” and Portsmouth resident who currently serves as the on-site receiver of a Massachusetts team charged with turning around a chronically under-performing school in New Bedford, noted two key lessons she’s learned.

“Relationships matter,” she said. “We can’t assume that it’s OK for a teacher and a student not to have a relationship.” Roy also said to achieve sustainability and impact, “you need to create systems ... parents are partners, and that needs to be institutionalized.”

“The importance of training those people to recognize and note what’s going on in front of them is absolutely critical,” Sarah Dinklage, executive director of Rhode Island Student Assistance Services, said of school personnel training. “Let’s get the suicide rate to zero.”

“This bill arose out of a tragic situation at Portsmouth High School,” Euer said. “It arose because the students really felt they needed more resources ... as we talk about mental health, it de-stigmatizes it.”

“His death rocked our town,” said Cortvriend, who is looking forward to preparing the bill for passage.

Both the Senate and House bills were held for further study. The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, in a letter dated March 20, expressed concern with the language of the bill. Patrick Crowley, assistant executive director of government relations with National Education Association Rhode Island expressed “technical concerns about the bill,” but noted the organization’s commitment to working with sponsors and supporters of the legislation.

Timothy Ralbovsky of Portsmouth, a friend of the Brunos, was one of the last people to speak before the House committee.

“I’m here as Nathan’s friend and as someone who sees education and the way that we entertain that social contract with our educators today,” Ralbovsky said. “If this act were law in the state of Rhode Island, 13 months ago Nathan would be with us tonight.”

ldamon@newportri.com