Charlotte, North Carolina
CNN
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A roomful of teenagers — some old friends and some strangers — stood with their hands, feet or backs together and their eyes closed.
“We are never alone in this world,” says Davis Cooke, 18, a high school senior and a founder of the group, who was leading the teens in meditation. “We are connected to larger communities that support us.”
It isn’t the kind of Wednesday night you would expect to excite teens after finishing homework and after-school activities, but this group of eight said it looks forward to the monthly mental health sessions with church leaders at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.
Many high schoolers are affected by what experts have called a teen mental health crisis, according to a survey released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March.
Overall, more than a third of high school students