What can we do, both individually and collectively, to curve the tragedy of teenage suicide?

Adolescence is a time of rapid hormonal shifts and development, it's hard enough for an individual who lives a semi-normal life to make it through, but often the compounding dilemmas of family violence, family drug use, and teenage bullying, among other pressures, bring individuals past their limits.

This question is not limited to the teenage age group: they are just one of the groups most prone. Every 15 minutes in our country alone a teenager commits suicide.

I suffered through debilitating clinical clinical depression for three years in my late teens, and I battled through all of the situations I described above, as well as a very rare disfiguring condition during those years, so this question is very important to me.

The level of anxiety that my depression brought on was often unbearable. In public I'd have tremors, vomit, and experience total total body collapse. I knew others could almost always sense something was wrong, but this only made them scared to be in contact with me. At the time I didn't mind, I was so sick I had trouble concentrating on holding on holding a conversation, but it truly remarkable that I am here typing this today.

What things can we as a society, and us as individuals, implement to help reduce teenage suicide.

there are many facilities toward this end already. pioneers have struggled through tons of red tape and bureaucracy and years of their lives to get their projects and ideas instated. when their dreams are finally realized, there is elation for a short duration and then it subsides into a colorless back ground and, possibly, into oblivion because it's just another entity that gets taken for granted.

the old adage "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" comes to mind.

there are crisis lines and teen clinics and such which may be found in the yellow pages. the people running them are empathetic and compassionate. all one need do is ask.

for those who feel the need for further insight regarding teen suicide, this should be helpful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_suicid...

Keep them away from drugs, the libertine life style and people like Al Gore who tell them the world is going to end in 10 years unless they live like peons of the 17th century...except without burning wood for heat and fuel.

its a phase many go thorough of low self esteem,and a cry for pittance, Some are just looking for attention,,, Most grow out of it eventually but being young they dont realize how much better life gets when they progress and gets older,,,

Parents should play a bigger role by helping build their esteem but many kids that do commit suicide clam up like a shell and the parents dont know,Its like the sirprise from hell,, but a kid should be able to talk with their parents or find someone that respects and cares for them,,,Suicide is the chickenway out,,, but no one knows..,,

What bothers me is the break-up of family, I mean there are so many things contributing to this. Sometimes bosses go a bit nuts with the amount of hours they work parents to work, and chasing that 'dream' of two kids, a house and two nice cars can delude people into thinking that this is where to find true happiness while at the same time neglecting their children's needs. Then look at all the billboards promoting just being carefree and irresponsible, look at the soap operas and tell me how many you can count that have a family playing the central role...
Also, the acceptance of sex, especially irresponsible promiscuous sex, has being detrimental. It is thrown at teens through media, be that shows, billboards or music vids, that you gotta 'shake that', 'hit that' and so on. This is bad enough for males, but the effect it has on young women is nothing close to liberation, it does the opposite, it stops them thinking they are worthy and should be respected for who they are not the tightness of their puss y.
Teens should be getting involved in sports or music or whatever their interested in, it bands together friendship groups and gives people an outlet. I think the biggest problem with out of control teens is that they don't have an outlet or don't know how to properly outlet their emotions in healthy ways.