'Irreplaceable'
Chi Rho Films camera man Peter Green, right, and sound operator Aaron Birdsall document Lakeland Junior High School students in February 2020. A new docu-series about suicide and mental health, "Irreplaceable," will be screened during an educational parent night Feb. 17.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press File
Lakeland Junior High Principal Harrison Bertsch, right, talks to his students about the documentary "Irreplaceable" when filming began in early 2020. An educational parent night featuring the video and information about how to talk to kids about suicide will be from 5-7 p.m. Feb. 17 at KTEC.
Chi Rho Films producers Andrew Hyatt, left, and Caleb Applegate encourage students to be "brave and courageous" as they share their stories for the docuseries "Irreplaceable," which begins filming in Lakeland schools this week. The series will dive into students' experiences and how they have been impacted by suicide. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Real Life pastor Jim Putnam shares how he has been impacted by issues of mental health and suicide during an assembly Friday morning. Real Life Ministries and private donors have helped Lakeland Joint School District become the first to be explored in the docuseries "Irreplaceable," which will examine the epidemic of suicide in the area. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
RATHDRUM — The adjective "irreplaceable" describes anything that is one of a kind, that has a particularly deep and meaningful value.
A human life falls under this definition.
"If something is irreplaceable, there’s just no substitute,” Lakeland Junior High Principal Harrison Bertsch said to his students Friday morning. "You all are so loved, so valued and absolutely irreplaceable. All of these teachers here, all of these staff members, myself, everybody here believes that in the very core of our heart."
Staff and faculty gathered with their students in the junior high gym for an all-school assembly to announce that the Lakeland community has been selected to participate in a docuseries titled "Irreplaceable." This docuseries (a series that follows specific people and their involvement in real events and situations) will highlight the real stories of students, teachers and staff who have been impacted by suicide.
"This is the very first docuseries of its kind,” Bertsch said. "We’re the very first school district to be part of the movement that’s going to have a huge impact on our school, our school district, our community, and, eventually, our society."
Crew members from Chi Rho Films, an award-winning production company, will be documenting the daily lives of students at Lakeland Junior High, Lakeland High and Mountain View Alternative High School through Sunday "to shine some light on the epidemic that’s going on here, that you are irreplaceable, that there’s no one like you," said Chi Rho Films production assistant Cassie Williams, of Post Falls.
"We want to capture people that have had direct experiences with suicide, but also people that have been impacted through friends, family, staff members, just capturing what is really going on around here in this district in the Northwest," she said.
Chi Rho chose Lakeland after Superintendent Becky Meyer sent out the message that Lakeland is in the midst of a mental health epidemic. In just the past few years, several students and parents in the Lakeland Joint School District have died by suicide.
In 2016, Idaho had the eighth-highest suicide rate in the nation. According to the Suicide Prevention Action Network, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Idahoans ages 15-34.
But "Irreplaceable" is not just numbers and stats. Lakeland's students are being encouraged to be brave and courageous to share their stories to help save lives.
“Everyone’s view is, it’s going to take everyone working together to figure out this problem and how do we go after it and help kids but not in a clinical way,” Williams said. "There are so many documentaries that are like, ‘These are the statistics.’ We want it real, raw and we want to be able to save lives.”
Chi Rho Films plans to release the first phase of "Irreplaceable" in the fall for Lakeland to incorporate into peer-led discussions and training for staff and faculty, said producer Caleb Applegate. The docuseries will then be presented to a streaming platform such as Netflix or Amazon, which producers are hoping will greenlight so they can continue the project in other schools around the country as they try to find answers in the exploration of mental health and teen suicide.
"What we’re trying to do is give hope to a lot of kids around the country that are your age," producer Andrew Hyatt said, addressing the students.
"You have an amazing staff and faculty and a lot of support, most of you," he said. "And there are a lot of kids in this country that don’t have any support. By you sharing what you're going through, your lives, whether it's depression or anxiety or if you have thought about suicide, I want you to know it’s going to help so many kids. The platform will be something like Netflix, so the rest of the world will be able to see it."
"We’re hoping this will actually start a movement," Applegate said.
Bertsch said he is excited about his school being a part of this new project.
"The heart of this is about helping kids, helping people through difficult situations,” he said. "It’s about spreading the news that people are irreplaceable and they’re valuable and there are people that love them."
The Press will follow along for a day of filming this week.
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, immediate resources are available.
- The National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 208-273-TALK (8255)
- The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline: 208-398-4357
- Crisis Text Line, a free, 24/7 support. TEXT 741741 from anywhere in the USA to text with a trained Crisis Counselor
- Idaho Mental Health Services Crisis Line for Children: 208-769-1406