Teenagers at several high schools in Loudoun County, Virginia, participated in suicide prevention walks on Wednesday. The event began in honor of a student, Ryan Bartel, who took his life. News4's David Culver reports.

Adults don’t always understand the social pressure facing teens; even though they say they do.
That was the message delivered Wednesday, April 19th, at Woodgrove High School by Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, a mental health therapist.

The efforts of a few Woodgrove High School students to provide support to classmates struggling with mental illness has multiplied, and they’re asking the community at large to join the movement.

Woodgrove High School’s We’re All Human group hosted its second assembly and walk today to raise awareness for teenage suicide prevention. We’re All Human members spoke about their struggles with depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges, and how involvement in the club has helped them work to overcome them.

Suzie Bartel isn’t just a can-do person. She describes herself as someone who can’t just stand by when she sees a problem. She has to respond. So when her son Ryan took his own life on Oct. 15, 2014, she got to doing.

After a wave of teen suicides around the county over the last year, Chairwoman Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) brought Loudoun County together Nov. 7 to figure out how the community can do a better job at suicide prevention.

County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large)’s teen suicide prevention forum at Inova Loudoun Hospital on Monday night brought together people from across age groups and professions with a single message: “There’s always hope.”

After at least five Loudoun County Public School students committed suicide last year, a mother who lost her son is stepping up to help provide the training she believes students are missing.

The in-depth three-hour long discussion included advice from a mother who lost her son to suicide, two therapists, Loudoun County Public School officials, students and more. The speakers talked about the signs that a teen may be suicidal, research on who is most at risk, how to destigmatize the subject and how to make students feel comfortable talking about their issues.

Students at Woodgrove High School in Purcellville, Virginia, walked out of classes Wednesday to express support for classmates struggling with depression. News4's David Culver spoke with the mother of Ryan Bartel, who died by suicide in Oct. 2014.

PURCELLVILLE, Va. (ABC7) — It's a walkout.
All 1,500 students left their books inside and took a lap around Woodgrove High School in Purcellville.

Sending a powerful message to the community that “you are not alone,” a group of Woodgrove High School students organized a special, school-wide walk to raise awareness for mental illness and suicide prevention.