This is something to keep in mind:
Early intervention and informal support can make a difference before a young person reaches the point of crisis.
Jack.org programming aligns with protective factors of suicide outlined by Canada’s Suicide Prevention Framework, including mental health literacy, enabling help-seeking and support, and stigma reduction.
The free training aside, I think one of the things we often miss is how much impact informal support can have on someone’s mental health status. It can make all the difference to know that you’re not alone when facing depression or anxiety. And how do we know we aren’t alone? Because people know about it and offer informal support, which to me means not leaving. No one expects you to be a therapist, but I can tell you from experience that it’s shocking how many people disappear from your life when you struggle with mental health issues.
Of course, we also know there’s a ton of research that indicates that early intervention is also key to preventing larger mental health issues in adulthood, so why not support kids struggling every way we can?
So yes, check out the resources linked above to learn more about how to be supportive, but here’s the one thing you shouldn’t do: leave.