Being aware of a problem spanning over around 20% of the students in public schools and realizing how many students 20% truly is, are two vastly different things.

 There are 49.5 million students in public schools in the United States. Out of those 49.5 million, 20%(9.9 million) have mental health problems, 19%(9.4 million) have had serious thoughts of suicide, 9%(4.5 million) have actually attempted suicide, and 3%(1.5 million) were injured enough to require serious medical attention. To put these numbers in perspective, there are only 8.6 million people in New York City, the most densely populated city in the U.S. 

The most shocking fact about all these numbers is the number of successful suicides, which is unknown. That number being a mystery isn’t due to any lack of effort on anyone’s part, it is simply due to the fact that there is no sure-fire way to tell whether some of these deaths were accidents or a different kind of tragedy. That is, unless they left a note of some kind to state the intent. 

While suicide isn’t the root problem, for many cases the attempt or the unfortunate success can be the end result. In the end, the largest problem is the unforgivable lack of help for those that are suffering. Some states are making attempts, the largest of those being New York and Virginia, which are mandating education on the awareness of mental illnesses. 

There needs to be more awareness and more education on this subject, and this can’t just be left to teachers alone to deal with. More students and parents need to be taking action and trying to reach out to those that they think are suffering; however, it should also be known that there is a line that should not be crossed. If you are trying to reach out, don’t take it so far as harassing them, which can only make things worse. Make an effort to help, but don’t push someone to the point of shutting down.