Youth suicide rates have escalated over the last decade, making it the second leading cause of death among teens and young adults. But suicide rates are starkly different among different populations, a reality brought into full view in a new report by The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit focused on youth suicide prevention. And the harms of social media — the subject of a bipartisan push to regulate tech company algorithms and a bevy of lawsuits filed by school districts and states — is just one piece of the crisis.

But Erickson-Schroth, JED’s chief medical officer, has observed one promising trend: Schools are more interested than ever, she said, in addressing students’ mental health needs.

The 74 caught up with Erickson-Schroth, whose work places a particular emphasis on LGTBQ+ mental health, to gain insight into the factors driving the youth suicide crisis, the conditions that put some groups of students at heightened risk and strategies that educators and policymakers can use to keep kids safe.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Read the full article about youth suicide rates by Mark Keierleber at The 74.