Plan the Path Stands With The JED Foundation
In Sunday’s New York Times one of the front-page stories was about a student’s suicide at Hamilton College in upstate New York. The headline read: His College Knew of His Despair. His Parents Didn’t Until It Was Too Late. And in Time magazine in March: Record Numbers of College Students Are Seeking Treatment for Depression and Anxiety — But Schools Can’t Keep Up. And from The Nation in April a headline read, Mental-Health Care on College Campuses Is Broken.
On college campuses there is a mental health crisis. There’s not enough funding, there’s not enough staffing, there are issues concerning privacy. So schools are muddling their way through, trying to find a way to treat the problem of mental health on college campuses. And it’s taking time to figure it out.
I feel thankful for the Jed Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to educate the public about mental health in teens and young adults and to prevent suicides on campus. They are the organization at the forefront of this movement.
If you are not familiar with them, I strongly recommend that you go to their website, click here. Our children’s mental health is all of our responsibility, and we need to be aware of the signs of the depression and despair that plague many of them.
Please make a commitment to help our teens and young adults as they grow up and try to navigate this very difficult time in their lives. We need to let them know that no matter what, there is hope.
About the JED Foundation, From their website:
JED is a nonprofit that exists to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We’re partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention programs and systems. We’re equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. We’re encouraging community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health.