Peninsula Suicide Prevention (PSP), a critical crisis intervention service serving all of San Mateo County, has conducted mental health and suicide prevention presentations for upperclassmen in MA for the past few weeks. PSP was officially known as StarVista Crisis Center, which closed in August 2025. The organization has re-emerged as part of the social services program at the Felton Institute.
The presentation of PSP appeared in the 1960s under the leadership of founder Charlotte Ross, a pioneer of the suicide prevention movement. Since then, the rampant use of social media among young people has only heightened the need for new types of mental health services. “There is a need for proactive mental health work rather than reactive,” Walter Ng, Community Engagement Supervisor at the Felton Institute, said. “We updated the presentation to make it more interesting for students, but also live in the classroom and create a kind of small intimate conversation, where it’s really safe to talk about mental health and suicidality.”
Making sure students stay focused is another key goal when designing a presentation. “If you do a really dry PowerPoint with just sliding, it’s not interesting, and the kids start dozing,” Ng said. “So we finally made a presentation for our generation and your current generation, where it is very focused on media, video, interactive things.”
Some activities include making paper airplanes, with a focus on asking classmates for help. Students also work together in small groups, discussing warning signs, coping mechanisms and stress. “It’s about finding activities, finding conversations where you can talk to each other instead of talking to me and creating a space where they talk and remove the stigma,” Ng said.
“I think it’s pretty fun,” junior Aryn Roodman said. “I thought the presenter did a good job and I hope people focus.”
Naturally, the topic of suicide and mental health is uncomfortable for many. But PSP hopes to make the subject less unsettling. “I think, as a society, we don’t necessarily bring forward this conversation. However, everybody navigates mental health every day, and this is not just one person’s experience,” said Ng.
One of Ng’s strategies to help students feel safe is to share their own stories. “I think showing and talking about my own experiences with family or with friends, highlights for them, ‘Oh, I’m not the only one,’ or ‘I know someone who went through this,'” Ng said.
Many students felt comfortable throughout the presentation. “I definitely feel cared for and invested while watching it. I think this presentation can really help kids who need it, especially in helping to prevent problems before they get worse,” said Junior High School Julia Maggio.
One of the aims of this presentation is to promote 988, the national Suicide Crisis lifeline. The number provides 24/7 support from counselors in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Callers have the opportunity to communicate through phone or text. “988 was the thing I talked about the most in the presentation, because very few people know what 988 is,” Ng said. “Yes, I’m talking about warning signs, risk factors, what stress means to them, and lots of interactive activities and mechanisms.
988 is not the only source that the presentation relies on. Allcove, a network of mental health centers for youth, helps create a safe environment for students by providing physical, mental, family, and educational support. “This is the place for [students] To go that outside of school,” said Ng. In addition, The Trevor Project, which serves LGBTQ + youth, also continues to provide its own crisis services, although its special lifeline 988 was recently closed by the Trump administration.
PSP hopes to continue to grow and have a long-lasting impact on the youth of San Mateo County. “We’re basically trying to get into as many schools as possible to get ahead of the curve, because mental health doesn’t end in high school. It continues the rest of your life,” Ng said.
If you are in crisis and need support, call 988.
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