Fairfax, VA: Mental health summit at local high school focuses on suicide

Sept 29, 2018, Fairfax County, VA, WTOP: Fairfax Co. schools hold conference to address mental health, suicide https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2018/09/fairfax-county-schools-holds-conference-to-address-mental-health-suicide/slide/1/ Inside the cafeteria at Fairfax High School, students gathered to share ideas and learn how to identify and address concerns around mental health during the Our Minds Matter Teen Summit for Fairfax County Public Schools Saturday. The summit is a part of this year’s Mental Health and Wellness Conference. … “At Woodson, we’ve had like six suicides in the past few years, so I use them on a day-to-day basis,” Gill said. “There is a stigma around mental health and we do need to fix it.” Jennifer Spears, a mental health and wellness specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, said the conference was created five years ago after students expressed a need to learn how to cope with mental health.