News Release: REAL Talk Support Group for Teens Living with Thoughts of Suicide
Grief Recovery Center (GRCBR) is pleased to partner with Via Link to offer a new support group for teens. Real Talk is a support group for teens (ages 13-17) in the greater Baton Rouge area who are living with thoughts of suicide. The group provides an understanding space for teens to talk about what they are really going through, successes and struggles.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year old Americans. (source: CDC) and ends the life of over 48,000 individuals in the US each year. Through the services of GRCBR and Via Link, teens are provided crisis support, counseling, and education. For support visit www.vialink.org or www.grcbr.org.
“It is essential that we allow teens a safe place to talk openly about their overall mental health concerns. Many adults are especially uncomfortable letting teens talk about suicide. As a result, teens are forced to cope with these scary feelings alone, or address them through social media,” said Esther Sachse, Executive Director of Grief Recovery Center. “This epidemic among teens will only begin to decline when we empower teens with the opportunity to safely express their suicidal thoughts and mental health concerns. We want teens to know they can have thoughts of suicide and still choose to continue fighting for their life. We want to give them the tools to do that.”
The Real Talk group meets every Monday on Zoom from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Every 3 weeks there will be a support group meeting for parents/caregivers of teens enrolled in the group. The closed group is free to join and requires screening prior to registration. Group facilitators are licensed Mental Health Counselors.
Additional resources for teens and parents - VIA LINK’s free 24/7 support lines:
VIA LINK’s free 24/7 Crisis Teen Textline: text 833-TXT-TEEN
VIA LINK’s free Louisiana Parentline: call 833-LA CHILD or text 225-424-1533
Visit the GRCBR site at www.grcbr.org/resources for a list of additional supports for teens and adults. If you or someone you know is a teen living with suicidal thoughts, we invite you to join us. To register or for questions email realtalk@vialink.org or call 225-924-6621.