NGO, Sandy Hook Promise highlights teen anxiety amidst the pandemic

The Kids Are Not Alright, a campaign series of three videos by Sandy Hook Promise, an NGO that trains students and adults to know the signs of gun violence, reflects the anxiety and isolation being experienced by teenagers today.

Missed graduations and proms. Detaching from friends and family. Staying in a bedroom for 20 hours a day. Being constantly plugged in online. These are just a few of the stressors that youth have faced over the last year due to the pandemic, leading to heightened anxiety and depression, among other new or worsening mental health struggles. To help adults better understand this turmoil threatening the lives and well-being of kids, Sandy Hook Promise has released a new PSA campaign, "The Kids Are Not Alright."

It is the latest in a series of "Know the Signs" short film PSAs by Sandy Hook Promise and BBDO New York. The Kids Are Not Alright, a series of three short videos, reflects the anxiety, isolation, pressure, boredom, and incessant information overload that teenagers are experiencing. A guide has also been released as a part of the campaign.

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"We may think kids are resilient, but the truth is — the kids are not alright," said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. "More youth are struggling with mental health issues and heightened depression and anxiety as a result of the pandemic. And it's our responsibility to listen to them, support and protect them."

Sandy Hook Promise is a national nonprofit organisation with a mission to end school shootings and create a culture change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt children. It is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.