Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 15-24? Young people also struggle with anxiety, depression and, many other mental health issues. We spoke to 12 year old Isabella from Ohio, who struggled with depression, she wanted to talk to us about how schools handle mental health. Last year, a girl in the grade below Isabella committed suicide. Isabella and her fellow students were really shaken up by the death and Isabella felt the school should have done more to help the kids get process it. “That was really hard for everyone,” Isabella told us.“The school wasn’t very helpful. They just had one day of counselors and I thought that was pretty sad,” Isabella said. “School’s don’t do anything for kids,” she added. Even though kids are at school 8 hours a day, they too often
don't have anyone there who can help them with their mental health issues. We asked her about what her school does to help with problems such as depression and anxiety, “there’s a guidance counselor at our school, but she can’t help us. She always tells us to go to the doctor but, that’s not helping,” she responded. "They don’t even give us time to talk to the guidance counselor. We have three minute breaks between classes and if we go during a normal school period we just miss all the work and it’s just not good,” she said. “There should be activities or something,” she finished. Isabella needed someone to talk to other than her friends when she was depressed. Her school wasn’t there to help her and unfortunately, there are too many kids who have been put in similar situations. If the girl in her school who killed herself had had someone to talk to, then maybe she would still be alive. Mental health is a serious problem that schools need to do a better job addressing. Turn the page for a Q & A with Isabella about her depression and how she copes.
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