To mark the anniversary of the passage of the landmark legislation of the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act, we are sharing a letter written a year ago by Roland Behm, Co-founder of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership, Board Member and Former Board Chair, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Georgia Chapter. The letter is to his son, Kyle, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010 as a junior in college and died by suicide in August 2019.

From National Public Radio (NPR), Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images, National Public Radio (NPR), March 1, 2023 In the wake of the pandemic, many people are struggling with their mental health regardless of their age. But recently published data from the CDC is shedding light on how teens are faring. The numbers show that 4 in 10 U.S. high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021. Nearly a quarter seriously considered attempting suicide. [ Please...

To read more of Nicole Kear's article, please click here. Teen girls in the U.S. are “engulfed in a growing wave of sadness, violence and trauma,” according to a report released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found alarming increases in rates of rape, depression, suicidality, and cyberbullying among adolescents. 1 “The numbers are unprecedented,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health . “Our young people...