Many of these teenagers had a mental disorder that was not treated/recognized.

Statistics:
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death between the ages 10-24. (2010)

- Suicide is the third leading cause of death for college age youth and ages 12-18 (2010)

- More teenagers and adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, strokes, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease COMBINED.

- In the US, there are an average of over 5,400 attempted suicides by people between the grades of 7-12 a day.

- Four out of five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs.

- In 2010, 464,955 people visited a hospital for injuries due to self-harm behavior.

- In any given year, only about 20% of teens with mental disorders are identified and receive mental health services.

- 1 in 5 teens suffer from a mental illness.

-Between 500,000 and 1 million young people aged 15-24 attempt suicide.

Basically, my goal is to raise awareness of teenage mental health and of teen suicide between grades 7 and 12 in public schools. There are too many people who are losing their short lives way too soon. Teens need to know that they are not alone and that they can get help.