Teen Suicide Prevention, Mental Health Forum Set For San Mateo Co. Parents

PALo ALTO, CA – Adolescent Counseling Services, a nonprofit agency dedicated to the social and emotional welfare of youth in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, will hold a suicide prevention community forum for parents on Thursday, Feb. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto.

In partnership with Project Safety Net, ACS program directors will discuss the warning signs of mental distress and strategies for crisis prevention in youth, moderated by PSN’s Executive Director Mary Gloner. The panel will also discuss key results from the CDC’s Preliminary Report, including the community’s high-risk teen populations.

In an effort to empower parents to be aware of signs of mental-health decline and suicidality in youth, ACS and PSN invite parents and community professionals to participate. The forum will also highlight substance abuse issues in teens and gender spectrum-identifying youth, as these populations are specifically mentioned in the CDC results as more vulnerable to mental health crises.

“It’s important that parents are aware of signs their teens might show in cases of mental distress,” says Christine Tam, ACS On-Campus program Director. “This is why we are bringing strategies out into the open to prevent tragedies from happening in our community.”

Gloner hopes this collaborative forum will provide the community with prevention strategies that can be used at the school, city and county levels.

For more information and to register to attend, contact the ACS Events Department at 650-424-0852 ext. 109 or visit www.acs-teens.org/upcoming-events. Space is limited; reserve your spot today!

For more on Redwood City-based ACS, click here.

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--Information submitted from Adolescent Counseling Services/Morguefile image