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Sources of Strength: CMS high school students aim to break mental health stigma

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Over a year ago, the Hough High School community lost one of its own to suicide, and the loss hit them hard.

It also sparked a difficult conversation about the fact that people in the community are struggling with their mental health.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Mental Health Resources]

Eyewitness News reporter Elsa Gillis sat down with a group of Hough students to talk about what their peers are going through.

"When it struck our community, we realized we needed to talk about mental health," senior McKenzie Martin said.

"It kind of showed us, I think people felt it was normal to feel this stressed, like that's how high school is," she said, "I see a lot of kids who feel like their test scores define them, who feel like if they don't do well on their test next week, then their life is over."

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"I see a lot of people that I know starting to seclude themselves and, you know, trying to only do what they feel like they have to do to, you know, get through high school," freshman Eva Coffee told Channel 9, "And I think, a lot of times, people don't realize that you need to have a social life to not be stressed and get through it."

"Trying to figure out the right path to take for college and also figuring out how to pay for college, it's just like everything about after high school and trying to finish high school it's a lot to think about," senior Iyeona Braxton said.

That pressure to perform can be extremely damaging, according to Dr. Cotrane Penn, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, who, like these teens, is working to change how students see themselves and how the community frames them.

"When we forget the humanity, the whole person-ness of our kids, we set them up to begin to understand their own self-worth as just that thing," said Penn.

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Martin said she felt that way when applying to college.

"I felt like I was my application, that I didn't have much value beyond that at times," Martin said.

Social media doesn't help.

"If I'm sitting at home on a Friday night and I go and open my phone and see all my friends are out at dinner or something, then I feel like I'm missing out and that's something that causes stress," junior Ben Anderson told Channel 9.

"People feel that social media is just a place to post the best parts of your life and I think that's really toxic," said Martin.

Just days after these students lost their classmate, 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. The shooting was an example of another stressor that weighs heavily on this generation.

"The main thing that scares me is school shootings," said Braxton, "Like, I feel safe at school, but it's a scary thought to think about."

So far this school year, Penn said CMS has done about 2,800 suicide risk assessments -- sitting down one-on-one with students to determine their risk of doing harm to themselves.

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In a district of over 147,000 kids, she said she would like to see more risk assessments, since county statistics show 16.2% of middle schoolers and 21.4% of high schoolers have thought about suicide.

Penn also revealed an upsetting takeaway from a meeting with mental health staff. "Their words were, 'We're seeing sicker kids than we've seen in the past,'" she said.

Today's climate makes what these students are doing -- talking about anxieties and fears and letting people know it's OK to feel depressed and to ask for help -- all the more important.

"If you don't, then, you know, then people can feel lost and alone," Coffee said.

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"There's one thing that I really want all parents to know: that it's not their fault," Martin told Channel 9. "I think the biggest thing you can do is just show that you are there, and care for them. You don't necessarily need anything traumatic to happen in your life to just be having mental health struggles. I think that's a big part of growing up."

"It's not always about fixing the problems," said Anderson. "Just even voicing what, like, my problems are and what issues I'm going through helps me cope."

These students are part of what's called Sources of Strength, a schoolwide program to create a positive school culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying and substance abuse. The students said the first step to dealing with mental health and saving more lives is talking about it.

Already, after one year of the program, they said they've felt a difference in school and believe they have started to break down the mental health stigma.