6.7% of Americans struggle with depression in a given year.¹ Depression is a complex condition that often results in people losing a sense of pleasure and meaning from life. It can also contribute to feelings of worthlessness, guilt, apathy, and sadness.

It's everyone's worst nightmare: Getting a call or finding out that someone you knew has completed suicide. People ask themselves, “Why?” They say things like, “I should have known. I wish I would have said something.”

A child’s mind is not equipped to deal with the stress of adult burdens. When young people experience toxic stress and trauma, their brains struggle to reconcile their world with how they perceive their friends’ worlds. The weight of those heavy thoughts pulls on kids’ psyches and, often, they reach a singular conclusion: “I am bad. I deserve this. I am not worthy.”

“I didn’t want to do it, but living in that environment, I just didn’t think I had any other option.”

Jake was a smart, vibrant teenage boy who had the world going for him. He had friends and good grades and got along well with others. No one on the outside looking in would have guessed that he was at risk for suicide.