In 2006, the suicide rate for children and youth in Watauga County was thirty percent higher than for the state of North Carolina. To address mental health concerns for students, Watauga High School partnered with Appalachian State University to establish High Country Help.

In 2018, 12% of adolescents in NC attempted suicide, with an even greater number expected to attempt suicide in the context of COVID-19. School closures and mandatory social distancing, coupled with stressful home environments, place adolescents with suicidal urges at significantly greater risk for suicide. Appalachian State University is partnering with seven schools and three counties to prevent suicides in Allegheny, Ashe, and Watauga Counties.

Join ncIMPACT Initiative Director Anita Brown-Graham as she explores related challenges and collaborative solutions with a panel of North Carolina experts.

– Anna Yaros, Research Clinical Psychologist at RTI
– Conor O’Neill, Medical Instructor at Duke University School of Medicine
– Dana Griffin, Associate Professor at UNC School of Education