well schools may be preparing to close their doors in just a couple of weeks but that doesn't mean the student Mental Health crisis disappears for the summer Advocates warn the break can cause even more barriers to adolescents getting the care they need mental health and suicide prevention workers are spreading the word about resources available to families and teens to maintain their well-being while school is out for more I'm joined by Susan talone she's The Clinical Director at the society for the prevention of teen suicide Susan you know we're coming to the end of mental health awareness month and I'm wondering what you think people should know about students well-being once school is out thank you for asking you know most people think summer is the time where students you know are going to have a more relaxed maybe Carefree time and hopefully that is the case but the one thing that I think I want people to know about summer is is that it comes with other pressures right it comes with sometimes uh the pressure on teenagers to drink Vape you know they may feel like they need to fit in in areas that might not be in their best interest also um it's a lack of structure for a lot of our teens and structure kids thrive on while at school there's a mentor or someone that that student relies on trust to turn to and now suddenly that person's not there every day once the summer hits that's a real uh really great point and that you know we work with kids all the time and that's what they tell us that they miss their counselors they miss their coaches their teachers because they're used to seeing them every day and yes they have that connection that really is Meaningful to them so oftentimes like we even say to counselors at school if you're worried about a child if they are have a lot of risk factors you know make that contact over the summer reach out to them because connection you know really matters uh for our kids what other resources Susan are available for students during these summer months I really encourage kids to know about the second floor youth helpline it's a service that it's not um it's there 24 hours a day seven days a week and it they can just call to talk to talk about anything that's going on in their world it doesn't have to be a crisis they can you know call for any reason a crisis text line is another way of um you know empowering kids to text and reach out to an adult so I the idea is is that they're never alone because um some are as much as it can create a lot of activity and fun it can also create a sense of isolation and a sense of of being alone and missing out what's your main concern when you head into you know summer break given the rise that we've seen in teen depression uh Suicidal Thoughts anxiety you know the whole gamut I think what um one of my most uh greatest concerns is that kids May indulge in alcohol drugs things that decrease their inhibitions uh and can increase risky behavior and so I think that you know I think that's a factor that I worry about and I also worry about that loss of connection with that trusted adult I think that's really important and so that's where you know all adults have to sort of keep their eyes on kids this summer and make sure they ask how you doing are you okay if they don't look right ask about it yeah reach out very important advice there Susan Talon thank you so much for your time you're welcome thank you for having me [Music]