When Mary Jo Podgurski lost her 13-year-old daughter to suicide in 2023, "it's scary and a bit overwhelming when this happens, and people say, 'How could this have happened?' I don't have all the answers, but I have some.
We are not helpless and we have to be proactive."
So the doctor from Washington, Pa., started Road to Mental Health Education, a support program for teens and young adults dealing with grief and loss.
"Grief and loss doesn't only mean death, but it means the loss of friendships and relationships, failing to make a team, failing school classes, sadness over a divorce, or financial concerns," Podgurski tells the Tribune-Review.
The program includes online support for parents, as well as a teen mental health advisory board, in-school education on bullying, depression, and suicide prevention, and teen discussion groups on grief and loss.
"My message to people is you can make it better and you can make a difference," Podgurski says.
The Road to Mental Health Education program was started after four students at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Butler killed themselves in the past two years.
"I can't sit idly by," Podgurski says. Read the Entire Article
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