Keep It Real

The conversations

§ Awareness

Real talk.
Real stakes.

All Topics

Pick a thread. Pull it.

alcohol

Alcohol

Family. Friends. You. The conversation no one wants to start.

Read →bullying

Bullying

What it actually looks like today and how to stop carrying it alone.

Read →depression

Depression

It’s heavier than people say. Mentorship that meets you there.

Read →mental health

Mental Health

You don’t have to perform okay. Tools, stories, and people who get it.

Read →opioids

Opioids & Drugs

Real stories from students and families who lost and got back.

Read →suicide prevention

Suicide Prevention

If you’re in crisis, call or text 988. Then keep reading.

Read →tobacco

Tobacco Awareness

Nicotine still kills more Americans than any other drug. Know the cost.

Read →vaping

Vaping Awareness

Marketed as harmless. Built on the same addictive engine.

Read →

§ Deep Dive

Addictions in America — the numbers behind the stories.

Substance · 01

Alcohol

Alcohol Use Disorder is one of the most common forms of addiction in America — and the conversation most families avoid until it’s late.

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95,000
U.S. deaths each year tied to alcohol (CDC)
14.1M
Adults living with Alcohol Use Disorder (NIAAA)
29.8%
12th graders reporting past-month use
10,142
People killed in alcohol-impaired crashes (2019)

Awareness means knowing the effects, the risks, and the warning signs early enough to do something about them.

Experimentation often starts between ages 12–14. Peer influence, family environment, and easy access all shape the start of drinking.

Long-term, heavy drinking damages the brain, liver, heart, and mental health. If you’re struggling, the first step is admitting it out loud to someone safe.

Substance · 02

Tobacco Awareness

Smoking rates have dropped, but nicotine addiction is alive and well — and tobacco is still the single largest preventable cause of disease and death in America.

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480,000+
U.S. deaths a year from cigarette smoking (CDC)
34.1M
Adults who currently smoke cigarettes
41,000
Annual deaths from secondhand smoke
$300B
Annual U.S. cost in healthcare and lost productivity

Nicotine hooks fast, builds tolerance, and creates real withdrawal that makes quitting hard without support.

Smoking damages nearly every system in the body — lungs, heart, blood vessels, immune system, reproductive health, oral health, skin, and bones.

Quit lines, NRT, counseling, and medications like varenicline or bupropion all work better than going it alone.

Substance · 03

Vaping Awareness

Vapes were sold as a safer alternative. For a new generation, they rebuilt the on-ramp to lifelong nicotine addiction.

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2.13M
U.S. middle and high schoolers using e-cigarettes
85%
Of youth users who choose flavored products
1 pod
Can contain as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes
EVALI
Vape-linked lung injuries hospitalized 2,800+ people

E-cigarette aerosol can irritate the lungs and exposes users to fine particles, heavy metals, and ultrafine chemicals never tested for inhalation.

Adolescent nicotine exposure disrupts brain development around attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.

Quitting vaping is the same hard fight as quitting cigarettes. Real support — text-based quit lines, counseling, NRT — works.

Substance · 04

Opioids & Drugs

Prescription painkillers and illicit opioids like heroin and fentanyl drive the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history.

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107,000
Drug overdose deaths in 2023 (CDC)
75%
Of overdose deaths involve opioids
2mg
Of fentanyl is enough to kill an adult
Narcan
Reverses opioid overdose — carry it

Most people who develop opioid use disorder started with a prescription, not a street drug.

Fentanyl is now in counterfeit pills, powder, and other drugs — without warning. One pill can kill.

Treatment works. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) cuts overdose death by more than 50%.