Aleteia logoAleteia logoAleteia
Friday 26 April |
Our Lady of Good Counsel
Aleteia logo
Inspiring Stories
separateurCreated with Sketch.

School administrators save suicidal student 1,000 miles away

MAP

WFAA | Twitter | Fair Use

Cerith Gardiner - published on 03/07/19

Here's how a group of strangers saved the life of a teen across several states.

Thanks to a glitch in the STOPit app, three school administrators were able to help save the life of a bullied student 1,000 miles away. The app that was designed for people to anonymously report varying incidents, including bullying, inadvertently sent messages to three school administrators in Frisco, Texas, from a suicidal teen living in Waynesboro, Virginia.

During an agonizing 50-minute text conversation, the administrators were able to ascertain that the child had taken pills and wanted to die. By keeping the conversation going, the three determined women were able to glean enough information to determine where the child lived and to pass all the information on to the local authorities in Waynesboro. Thankfully, the child was saved, although for reasons of confidentiality there is no specific information about the victim.

While the app makers themselves have no idea how these women were able to receive the messages from 1,000 miles away, one of the administrators describes the glitch as “a godsend.” Of course, we do know that God works in mysterious ways, and while we’re thrilled the child was saved, we’re equally grateful to the women who went out of their way to help a stranger in need over many miles.


CLOTHESPINS

Read more:
Here’s how high schoolers are using clothespins to prevent suicide


POPE FRANCIS

Read more:
10 Wise words from Pope Francis about bullying

Tags:
Technology
Enjoying your time on Aleteia?

Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you.

Help us continue to bring the Gospel to people everywhere through uplifting Catholic news, stories, spirituality, and more.

Aleteia-Pilgrimage-300×250-1.png
Daily prayer
And today we celebrate...




Top 10
See More
Newsletter
Get Aleteia delivered to your inbox. Subscribe here.