A wave of suicides in her hometown prompted a 17-year-old student to develop a 30-hour course for teenagers that trains students to identify if people are in distress, how to handle traumatic situations, and how to help other people through emotional crises.
Four years ago, when Maayan Cohen, now 17, was in eighth grade, she fell into a deep depression. She said she used to cry for hours and thought, “nobody can understand me.” She felt isolated and alone.
Then, the sister of one of her friends committed suicide and that sparked a wave of other suicides in her city of Beit Shemesh, both among teenagers and adults.
All of this inspired Maayan to help develop a free online course for teenagers; “First Aid for the Soul.”