BUFFALO N.Y. (WKBW) — Sadness, violence and suicide risk is a growing concern in the US. According to the CDC this is specifically impacting teen girls and members of the Queen City say they worry about their daughters and want nothing but the best for them.
"Shes a teenage girl who's going through all the teenage thing," mom Meghan Cavanaugh said.
Year 14 for the mom and daughter duo, and high school is next on the list of accomplishment. Cavanaugh shares her daughter's mental health is always at the top of her mind.
"I've seen her anxiety rise and fall," she shared. "The nervousness of school getting harder it def thats where it was kind of brought to light."
The effect the COVID-19 Pandemic had on youth has not slipped Cavanaugh's mind. Yet, she stated with a smile, there is always light at the end of each tunnel.
"As she's formed new relationships and she had a larger pool of friends to choose from and just grow with and become her own individual person," Cavanaugh said. "But its definitely peaks and valleys."
School, vaping, drugs, peer pressure, hormones and more are all things teens face. Cavanaugh shares that she is always asking her daughter if she is ok and how is she feeling. Meanwhile, learning her daughters cues for when she wants to be alone or needs some space.
According to the CDC nearly 3 in 5 or 57% of US teen girls felt constant sadness or hopeless in 2021 which is double what boys reported. Jack Kavanaugh is the Executive Director of GLYS, which works with LGBTQ+ youth in Buffalo. He shared how he encourages teens to use the resources around them but also wants to see more specific resources be offered.
"What we're missing out on is how specific sub-populations and demographics need services specifically," he said. "So when we're designing programs we have to know where we're seeing the biggest need."
Kavanaugh said emotions can be so big for teenagers.
"Whatever you're dealing with right now isn't everything this isn't your whole life," he shared.
The number one thing, Cavanaugh said, she wants girls to know is that they are not alone.
"For every girl I just want them to know you're not alone its so important its so scary for them and I see how hard it is," she said.
