After a family friend lost a son to suicide 17 years ago, Jan Daniels decided to take action. She founded a program called SOS: Signs of Suicide, an evidence-based approach to teaching young people how to recognize suicidal ideation in their peers, what to say to communicate support, and how to connect them to a trusted adult and mental health resources.

Jan received training at Columbia University to deliver Signs of Suicide, which is housed at the Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana. She works not only with students, but also parents, caregivers, educators and others working in child welfare to support healthy youth development.

Shockingly, as many as one in six students makes a suicide plan each year — a number that has only grown as students remained isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and nearly twice as many as in 2009. Thoughts of self-harm do not often come during business hours, which is why Jan is available all day and night to support others in proximity to a child considering suicide. She has provided resources and referrals to thousands of people in crisis in Northeast Louisiana, and the Signs of Suicide program has been taught to more than 55,000 students and professionals.

Jan connects with young people and adults alike through her infectious charm, positivity and sincerity. She has founded or worked on many other programs to support students in living healthier lives, with an emphasis on mental health. Having already helped to save many, many lives, she will continue teaching and advocating until every child knows how to recognize the signs of suicide and has access to support to help them in times of crisis.