JACKSON, Mississippi (WLBT) – A 15-year-old girl from Starkville has made headlines for her courage to speak up about her mental health. Now she participates in a national campaign to end prejudice among young people.

About this time last year, a few weeks into the new school year, 15-year-old Alex Jones noticed something was different.

“It’s been really hard for me,” said Jones. “I’m a very social person and I think it’s really been a turn since the pandemic happened and I couldn’t see people and now I’m back. It was quite stressful.”

Suddenly her bubbly personality was thrust into an unfamiliar space. The student-athlete also felt pressure to perform for coaches, teachers and her parents. So she joined the Jed Foundation and started speaking.

“It made me want to talk more about it. I wanted to help other people going through the same thing as me, with the change and change of atmosphere,” Jones said.

“Instead of waiting until a student is in crisis or suicidal, we move upstream and see and notice when someone is just beginning to struggle,” said Nance, Jed’s chief clinical officer. Roy said

The people at The Jed Foundation are working to instill this idea in young people and help them understand that it’s okay to talk about their mental health. The foundation has partnered with Macy’s to reach millions, and Alex is one of the new faces of the youth mental health campaign. Small talk can go a long way in situations like this.

“I love to talk,” said Jones. “I love talking to people. I’m the type of person who always says, ‘How are you? how was your day Are you ok? ‘I love checking people out because I know someone wants the same thing.

Alex talks about his newfound fame, including appearing on the big screen in Times Square, New York, and wants to help people in any way he can. Teenagers also want young people to know that they may feel isolated at times, but you are not alone.

“Someone in the world has probably suffered as much as you and they’ve gotten through it, so you can too,” Jones said. “There is always room for improvement. There is room for improvement and you can always do it. That is my motto — you can do it.

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