Kids in Crisis: Share your ideas!

The California Youth Crisis Line receives around 21,000 calls annually. Youth are calling about homelessness, depression, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, suicide and more. Budget cuts are limiting crisis line services.

Share your thoughts! What can citizens do to help youth get connected?

Teen Suicide every 100 minutes

RECENT HEADLINES: Marie Osmond's 18 year old son jumped off his apartment balcony. Teen suicide is on the rise!

Many parents don't know the difference between normal teen depression (moodiness) and signs of suicide. Here are some of the risk factors:

- Talking or writing about dying, disappearing or types of self-harm.
- Personality changes: withdrawal from family and friends, anxious or irritable, sad, indecisive or apathetic.
- Inability to concentrate on school, work, routine tasks.
- Change in sleep, including insomnia, oversleeping and nightmares.
- Dressing down, unkempt and poor hygiene.
- Change in eating habits.
- Low self-esteem or over-whelming guilt, self-hatred or shame.
- Loss of hope, believing things will never change.
- Giving away favorite things, extravagant spending, arranging care for pets.

For more information: www.suicide.org National Suicide Prevention Center