San Ramon Teen Seeks To Educate Peers, Parents On Mental Health

SAN RAMON, CA — When Venture School high school junior Avani Gireesha entered middle school, she began to notice changes in many of her peers.

Many of them began experiencing mental illness, she said. Google only helped her understand so much about their troubles and Gireesha said she realized that they needed more help than she could offer. "It was a very difficult time," she said.

Things came to a head when Gireesha realized a friend was suicidal and needed immediate help. She connected them with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, where a counselor helped her friend calm down. The encounter spurred her to speak to her parents and started her down the road to recovery, Gireesha said.

The experience was a wake-up call for Gireesha. She said she realized that the stigma surrounding mental health struggles prevented her peers from seeking help and talking to their parents.

Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 if you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Gireesha dreamt of starting a nonprofit with the goal of encouraging her peers to have honest conversations about mental health. She said she began volunteering and spending more time learning about mental health efforts.

In December, Gireesha sought nonprofit status for her budding organization Not the End, which held its first mental health conference in February. Her organization primarily seeks to encourage peer-to-peer connections, but also to bridge the gap between parents and youth, she said.

The conference last month offered attendees the chance to receive suicide prevention training geared at teens, which is usually offered to adults. Therapists were on hand to reach out to people who opened up about struggles in their lives, Gireesha said.

About 60 parents attended a session about speaking with teens about their mental health. Teens were educated about resources and equipped with tools to help them start conversations with their parents about mental health.

The event was especially needed given the trying circumstances of the past year, she said.

"A lot of people now have the knowledge that they need," Gireesha said.

Gireesha plants to organize more events in the future to serve Bay Area youth. Anyone who wishes to keep up with Not the End can visit its website or Instagram profile.

"You're not alone and there are resources out there," she said.