Memorial Vigil For Danbury High Teen Canceled By Experts

A memorial vigil, which was scheduled for Hailey Nailor, the Danbury High School student who took her own life on Saturday will not take place this weekend.

A good friend of Hailey's had suggested through a Facebook post that a memorial vigil should be held at the Danbury Mall parking garage for Saturday, but according to newstimes.com, the idea raised red flags for school experts, nonprofit, mental health, and social service organizations.

The incident also sparked almost 30 leaders around the state to hold a special conference call on Monday afternoon to discuss the best way to remember Hailey, and to avoid gathering at the place of her death.

The experts were most concerned with what they call "contagion effect," which is when a group comes together for a memorial, like the one suggested, and someone who's already showed signs of self harm is triggered to engage in harmful behavior.

Tom Steen, who is the chairman of the Connecticut Chapter for Suicide Prevention, explained to newstimes.com why a vigil like this would not be a good idea:

It’s best to wait and then when the family does agree and you want to have some sort of memorial, as opposed to a vigil, it’s done in a safe place with safety resources available. So if somebody is at-risk and is really troubled, there are resource people around to help and to keep people safe.

Danbury High School had counselors ready for students when they returned to school on Monday, and will have them available throughout the next week or so. The Danbury School Board will also renew discussions about how the district addresses mental illness and cyberbullying when they meet on Wednesday night. They also plan to have a moment of silence for Hailey before the meeting begins.