California teen creates peer-to-peer suicide prevention site

LOS ALTOS, Calif. -- A 17-year-old from Los Altos is confronting the sensitive topic of teenage suicide and mental health. Nadia Ghaffari has launched a website for teenagers where they can find support from their peers.

The concept is simple--a website for teens operated by teens.

Young people are sharing their stories of survival and hope to let others know they're not alone.

"Research has shown that if a teen is in trouble or if they want advice from someone that they're much more likely to go to someone their own age," said Ghaffari.

The Los Altos High School junior came up with the TeenzTalk after reading a research article handed out in her psychology class. It was about the suicide clusters in Palo Alto.

"It was kind of like brushed under," Ghaffari told ABC7 News. "The teachers didn't really want to talk about it and I just felt like this needed to be talked about and we need to get everyone the help they really need."

Ghaffari designed the website herself and the content is driven by her handful of ambassadors.

In addition to teens sharing their stories there's a resource page where people can hear from mental health experts.

TeenzTalk is only eight months old and attracting 500 unique visitors a week.