Save the Teens

Carolyn Zahnow lost her son and only child, Cameron Stephenson, in 2005 to the demons that occupied his mind. Her hope is that by sharing her story and experiences other parents, teachers, mentors of teens, and teens themselves, will become more aware to the signs and symptoms of teen depression and substance abuse and then know what to do about it.

Do not become one of the parents who attend survivor of suicide support groups who whisper ....."If only I'd seen the signs."

The mission of saving teens started before the book was published. Carolyn began speaking about depression and teens while a member of Toastmasters in Raleigh. Once she achieved "Competent Speaker" level, she was ready to reach out to parents and other adults about how to save our teens. That was in 2009 and the speaking opportunities just multiply! 

Carolyn Zahnow

Author, speaker

?Save the Teens: Preventing suicide, depression and addiction?

Carolyn Zahnow has taken her experience of losing her son to suicide in 2005 into a learning opportunity for other parents, teachers, grandparents ? anyone who knows and cares about teenagers ? to learn the signs of teen depression and substance abuse.

Her goal is teach parents these signs in an effort to get teens the help they need before anything tragic happens to more families. She offers ways to reconnect with your teens if you feel like they don?t talk to you anymore. If you?re waiting for them to ?just grow out it? ? you?ll be waiting until they are about 25 years old. It?s best to be alert for the signs of depression and provide help now if they need it.

Carolyn is also the founder and facilitator of the Wake Forest Survivors of Suicide support group. The group holds a depression and suicide awareness walk in the fall. The support groups meets once a month. More information on this group can be found here.

She has shared her story of survival of teen depression and loss of her son (her only child) to various groups. Her speaking history follows.

• Green Hope High School PTA, Cary NC
• Martin Middle School PTA, Raleigh NC
• Dillard Drive Middle School PTA, Cary NC
• Wake County Library at Cameron Village, Raleigh NC
• Northern Raleigh Regional Library, Raleigh NC
• Flower Mound Public Library, Flower Mound TX
• Touched by Suicide support group, Flower Mound TX
• Trinity Presbyterian Church, Flower Mound TX
• National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) State Conference, Raleigh NC
• Wake Tech Community College - Health Services, Raleigh NC
• iMom meetings, Cary NC
• Franklin Academy Charter School, Wake Forest NC
• East Wake High School, Knightdale NC
• Cary High School, Cary, NC
• Jordan High School, Durham NC
• Faison Community Center, Faison NC
• Compassionate Friends, Raleigh NC
  

It's all because of this handsome guy, Cameron Stephenson.