TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Young people ages 10 to 24 make up nearly 15% of suicide victims nationwide, according to statistics from the University of Arizona, and in Tucson alone, nearly 7.9% of teens have admitted to using some type of drug.
Now, the Pima County Health Department is creating a safe space for kids to open up about their mental health.
Pima County hosted a new conference called "Let's Talk About It," connecting young people with local resources and support.
For Aryanna Diaz, the issue hits close to home.
"Mental health definitely has like a big meaning to me because I've struggled with it since I was at least 10 years old," Diaz said.
Diaz says opening up about her struggles wasn't easy.
"With the stigma around it, it's harder to, especially in like different cultures, it's a lot more difficult for people to like actually talk about it," Diaz said.
At the event, she found a community that understands — including motivational speaker Zion Givens, who says he faced many of the same challenges growing up in Tucson.
"We can talk about mental health and that there's strength in vulnerability and that there's nothing wrong," Givens said.
"It's about showing other people an alternative ... healthy coping skills that they can develop and have," Givens said.
Pima County officials say those conversations are more important than ever. People have been using drugs to cope with their mental health, leading to as many as 443 overdose deaths as recently as 2023.
"So it's super critical to talk about these issues, especially with the presence of fentanyl and just the illicit drug market being so cheap here," Pima County Health Department Program Manager Kimberly Wang said.
Organizers hope events like this remind teens they don't have to go through these struggles alone.
"And trust me, there's people out here that want to help you, that want to support you, but they can't help you if they don't know what's going on," Givens said.
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