EDUCATION
"Our mission has always been simple: to help people change their lives through education."
12 March 2026
Can you start by telling us what the JED Foundation is and what you’re trying to achieve?
The Jed Foundation, JED, is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the emotional health and preventing suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. We partner with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems. We also drive national programs and policy, develop resources for young people and the adults in their lives, and lead anti-stigma campaigns to encourage young people to seek help when they need it.
How far has JED’s reach extended so far?
We’ve made significant progress. We’ve partnered with nearly 1,500 schools and organizations that serve approximately 8 million youth per year. Beyond that, we’ve reached more than 21 million stakeholders through campaigns, training, digital resources, and strategic advising. Through these partnerships, we help organizations implement our Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention.
What prompted JED to issue a national alert in 2026?
Young people deserve strong and stable support systems. We issued a national call for stronger protections for youth mental health amid accelerating technologies, eroding social connections, and shrinking public support networks. We are underscoring the need for safer digital systems and robust public resources.
You’ve spoken about AI and social media as major concerns. What are you seeing?
Young people are growing up in systems that are fragmenting, automating, and, in some cases, withdrawing human care. The rise of artificial intelligence and social media in everyday life is reshaping emotional development, and we should act quickly to ensure that youth well-being is prioritized.
How serious is the AI threat specifically?
Evidence suggests AI is already contributing to suicidal ideation and planning, underscoring the need for policymakers to require safety-by-design defaults and establish explicit boundaries around what AI can and can’t do. The speed and scale of AI outpace the development of safety standards and clear accountability to protect youth. As AI-driven platforms replace personal interactions, isolation and anxiety have increased among youth.
What standard should AI be held to when it comes to youth?
Progress will depend on treating AI as a powerful system that influences youth development and demands the same level of clinical rigor, transparency, and responsibility as any other mental health intervention.
What threats to mental health funding and access concern you most right now?
Strengthening youth-specific crisis response is urgent as suicide and suicide attempts remain a serious concern. In a time of greater need for mental health supports, access to critical care is threatened through cuts in services for LGBTQ+ youth, changes in Medicaid policy, and increases in health care premiums. Coordinated cross-sector efforts must be made to ensure that young people consistently receive vital services and support when they need it most.
You’ve raised concerns about rising youth isolation. What does the data show?
The social fabric is fraying as digital interactions replace in-person connections. For example, more than 40% of Gen Z adults report never having had a romantic relationship in their teens, according to research from the Survey Center on American Life. Additionally, more than 75% of young men reporting mental health struggles are reluctant to tell their parents, and 60% worry what others would think if they sought help, according to findings from Track Youth Mental Health.
What solutions do you see for rebuilding those social connections?
Addressing this challenge requires investment in schools, community-based organizations, and peer leadership opportunities that serve as everyday relational hubs to connect and build supportive relationships.
How is JED positioning itself to meet these challenges?
JED is committed to meeting this moment with care, urgency, and collaboration. To deepen our impact, reach more young people, and strengthen the systems that support youth mental health and suicide prevention, we need the continued support of and collaboration with partners across programmatic, financial, and community sectors. Progress is possible when we respond to systems under strain with sustained, human-centered commitment.
