As college students, it can be hard to navigate the challenges of daily life. The stresses of classes, friendships and relationships with social media mixed in and a dose of becoming an adult without a fully developed brain. Plus most college students at this moment lived through covid-years of high school and missed some milestones in their journey. It's overwhelming and I truly believe that today's generation with the connectivity in their pockets and the constant bombardment of information (from good sources and bad) along with the fact that their "worth" can so incorrectly, but easily, be displayed in likes and posts, makes it a new world for behavioral health challenges. Jordan advocated for mental health awareness and was always the first to reach out to someone in need, but after her death I learned she had been reaching out to others for help - her peers. With the best of intentions and the resources they were given (which wasn't much) they did their very best to support her, but as a society we can do better. Often parents are not the first line of defense, especially for college students. Plus, our child is a legal adult and we lose the ability to advocate for them by being involved in their care. The burden now fall on the young adult alone, during a time of mental health crisis for them.

But what if their peers are better equipped to sound the alarm and know what to do? By having the tools to identify concerning behaviors related to depression, anxiety, and suicide and be given resources to properly sound the alarms for help and support their friends, we can save lives. Empower young adults with programs and resources is one way that moms (and the relay) can help this age group.