26 minutes | Premieres May 2025

Examine teen mental health through powerful stories of unimaginable loss as well as resilience and hope for a brighter future. Young people, families and experts reveal the challenges of navigating mental health struggles and demonstrate that by addressing stigma and sharing actionable solutions, we can empower communities to build a future where every young person feels supported and understood. This is the second episode that we are creating as part of PBS12’s ongoing “Decode Colorado” series.

Filmmaker Notes: Rob and Chelsea are directing, producing, and filming this documentary-style television show at Colorado Front Range locations including Denver, Broomfield and Aurora, as well as in Merino and Sterling in rural Northeast Colorado. Principal photography includes cinéma vérité, aerial cinematography and b-roll, as well as a wide variety of interview setups ranging from extremely minimal using only natural light to more well-lit with Aputure lighting, diffusion, modifiers, grip, etc. Special thanks to Lori and Avery Schott for allowing us to film with them about exceptionally difficult experiences at multiple locations including in their home, on their ranch and at The Old Library Mercantile and Coffee Shop. Heartfelt thank yous also go to Jake Hettinger for bravely sharing with us at his farm and for being a front runner on mental health issues in rural Colorado, Jason Santomaso and the Sterling Livestock Commission for welcoming us to film with them shortly before a big auction, Alejandro Chavez for permitting us to film with him over several days on sensitive and personal subject matter including at his home and school, OraVera Konadu-Acheampong for intrepidly leading in her community and allowing us to share her eloquence, as well as to Children’s Hospital Colorado and Ellie Mental Health in Broomfield for inviting us to their locations and sharing their time and expertise. This topic and most of the others we cover for PBS12 are especially sensitive in nature and we are impressed and inspired by the people who are willing to put themselves out there on camera with the hope of others being able to benefit from hearing their experiences, knowledge and advice, and perhaps help create meaningful change. Chelsea’s official roles are Director and Editor while Rob’s are Producer and Director of Photography, with some overlap as usual, in what is always a major joint effort between the project’s courageous and generous on-camera participants and our small production team.