CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There is new help for teenagers suffering from depression in Mecklenbug County. Mental Health is often a taboo subject, but some local groups are trying to bring it out of the shadows and let teens know where to get help.

The teen years can be some of the most painful. At a summit on teen mental health at Imaginon Eyewitness News learned that 20% of high school students and 27% of middle school students admit they have been sad two weeks or more in a row. Eleventh grader Luigi Harmon sees it in her peers.

“I would say that they just feel alone sometimes,” she said.

Mecklenburg County just got federal funding to help new programs called MeckLINK and MeckCARES. They offer mental health services to teens and their families. It’s a way of catching small problems before they get out of hand.

“It’s a significant issue. We want our kids to know that it’s okay to reach out for help and we have resources and support available for kids and families in our community,” said Kim Campbell of MeckCARES.

Libby Cleveland Safrit at Teen Health Connection said before now, people in crisis didn’t know where to go.

“So what is important is that we all know what to do and stop thinking that its a back room issue, we have to bring it out of the shadows,” she said.

Safrit said mental health healing takes time. But if teens get help at this early age, it could help them for the rest of their life. They can finish school and will less likely to be involved in criminal activity.

The bottom line is that emotional and mental health problems can be overcome. If you want to contact the new agencies here are the phone numbers.

MeckCARES 704-432-4593 MeckLINK 704-336-6404