So many people who are struggling believe nobody would notice if they were gone. I tell my followers every day that's not true. You would be missed. You matter.

But when a teenager is in that dark place, the first person they open up to usually isn't a counselor or a parent. It's a friend, a classmate, or the one teacher they trust. Too often, that person has no idea what to say or what to do next.

In many schools, students go from sixth grade to graduation without a single lesson on how to recognize when a friend is thinking about suicide, how to talk to them, or how to get help. Training for teachers and staff isn't consistent either. It depends on which state you live in, and it isn't always regular or required for everyone who works with kids.

That gap matters. According to the CDC's newest Youth Risk Behavior Survey, about 1 in 7 high school students seriously considered suicide in the past year. That number has dropped from more than 1 in 5 in 2021, which shows prevention works. But it's still millions of kids.

And teaching students works. In a major study of more than 11,000 teens across 168 schools in Europe, published in The Lancet, students who took a short classroom mental health program called Youth Aware of Mental Health were about half as likely to attempt suicide over the next year as students who didn't.

That's why we're calling on every state board of education to require suicide prevention and crisis response education for both students and faculty.

For students in middle and high school, age-appropriate lessons on:

1. The warning signs that someone might be thinking about suicide.

2. How to ask a friend directly if they're okay, and how to listen without judgment.

3. How to get a trusted adult involved, and how to call or text 988.

4. That reaching out for help is strength, not weakness.

For teachers, counselors, coaches and all school staff:

1. Regular, evidence-based suicide prevention training, not a one-time video.

2. Clear steps for what to do when a student reaches out or shows warning signs.

3. A plan for connecting students to counselors, families and 988.

No student should lose a friend, and no teacher should lose a student, because nobody ever taught them what to say. Let's make sure everyone in our schools knows how to help, and that every kid knows they matter.

Sign this and share it. Then check on one person today and tell them they'd be missed.

If you're struggling right now, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.