As Aunt is walking past, she notices that the young adolescent male is upset. She asks him what is wrong, but he refuses to tell.

It is important here that she does not leave him or walk away. She gently persists with her questioning and sits down beside him to comfort him. She speaks to him about what she is noticing and acknowledges the difficulty in talking about emotions and feelings. Through this she is reassuring him that talking about his feelings may make him feel better.

She acknowledges strength in culture through reminding him that he is never alone because our ancestors are protecting us.

Through her gentle yarning and checking in, he eventually opens up and tells her what is wrong.
Aunt directly asks him whether he has been thinking about suicide or killing himself. It is important not to avoid this question and the use of language is important. You must ask directly whether they are thinking about or have they had thoughts of suicide, or had or having thoughts of killing themselves or wishing that they were dead.

He tells Aunt that he has had thoughts of killing himself. She takes this very seriously and that is exactly the right thing to do.

Aunt asks a specific question about whether he has a plan. Again, this is very important as it further indicates significant risk. The young male says that he doesn’t have a plan but that does not make it less serious as the threat of suicide may indicate just how badly that person is feeling and that continues to be a concern.
It is important that you always believe the person. It is important that you never promise to keep it a secret and that you have to tell someone to keep them safe.

Aunt acknowledges his feelings and thanks him for telling her.

She offers her support and says that she would accompany him to the doctor to discuss it further. She then further offers her support to go to his home and speak with his parents.

Aunt never leaves him alone and supports him through the next steps to ensure he is safe. She also discusses with him about other services they could reach out to.

Aunt does a deadly job!