Los Altos High School junior Nadia Ghaffari, left, interviews Amma Kankam, who lives in Ghana, for a segment on TeenzTalk.org, a website Ghaffari started to connect teens on mental health and other topics related to wellness in response to the suicide clusters in Palo Alto during the 2008-09 and 2014-15 school years. (Provided photo)
It was during an AP psychology unit on depression highlighting the suicide clusters in Palo Alto that Nadia Ghaffari decided to do her part in improving the mental health of teens.
Ghaffari, a junior at Los Altos High School, knew that anxiety, stress and depression were points of concern for those growing up in Silicon Valley. But an article about the suicides of Gunn High School students in 2008-09 and 2014-15 she read for the class stayed on her mind.
“I started noticing more and more the stress level of my peers,” Ghaffari said. “The issue of mental health kept coming up.”
Ghaffari decided what was lacking was a forum on mental health and overall wellness for teens run 100 percent by teens and with content just from teens.
So she started TeenzTalk.org in April.
“There are many wonderful organizations and initiatives working on this cause and working to reach teens who are hurting, but obviously it isn’t reaching everyone,” Ghaffari said. “We’re really aiming to reach all teens and fill in that gap.”
To date, the TeenzTalk website features videos of more than 100 teens, from the Bay Area and around the world, talking about personal challenges and achievements. One student talks about overcoming an eating disorder. Another talks about the stress of college applications.
Ghaffari is mindful about hosting videos that would trigger someone’s depression, so the website steers toward positive messaging.
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