A new school year often brings a fresh start for children and their families. A new opportunity to wake up on time, get homework done early, and accomplish academic goals together. For parents, it’s also a time to revisit conversations with their children about alcohol and other drugs. According to SAMHSA’s 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2.2 million adolescents ages 12-17 and 18.8 million young adults ages 18 to 25 had consumed alcohol in the past month.

This week marks the first full week of Mental Health Awareness Month.  I am pleased to share that we have started this week with SAMHSA’s 14th Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. The focus of this event was on suicide prevention in our youth.  We chose to focus on this issue because of the disturbing and unacceptable rate of suicide in young Americans. Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States and the numbers who die by suicide have only increased in recent years.

Mental health is central to everyone’s well-being, particularly adolescents, teens, and young adults. Our youth are active in their communities where they initiate growth, lead and contribute. However, in many cases, some young people face additional challenges that can take a toll on their well-being, including suffering from mental illness. This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has chosen youth as the focus of World Mental Health Day 2018 with its theme, “Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World.”