BRIER HILL -- About 100 students and adults attended Seaway Youth for Christ’s screening of “To Save a Life” March 31 at the Brier Hill Fire Hall, according to SYFC officials.

The decision to host the movie was in response to several recent teen suicides that occurred in the North Country, the organization said.

The movie is the story of all-American teen Jake Taylor, who seems to have it all. After a childhood friend’s death, Jake’s world turns upside down, and he is forced to make a decision that could change his life forever.

The movie addressed teen crises such as bullying, cutting, suicide, teen pregnancy and divorce.

“It stimulates the discussion that you are not alone, others are facing similar challenges but together we are able to find strength, encourage one another and overcome these challenges,” a news release from SYFC says.

To help students deal with the topics brought up in the movie, counselors, local school officials and community leaders were on hand for teens who may be facing some of these issues. Resources for students and parents were also provided for those seeking counseling.

“At some point, every teen has to decide: ‘What's my life going to be about?’ Teens can choose to turn their lives and school campuses around by reaching out to an unpopular or struggling student, making uplifting comments to one another, placing positive notes on each other’s lockers and refusing to bully others in school or on social media,” Seaway YFC Executive Director James Clarke said in a prepared statement.

Clarke asked adults in attendance if they would stand if they would be willing to listen to a teen who needed to talk.

“What teen in this room is willing to be a friend to someone who needs a friend, would you please stand?” Clarke said in the release, adding that “every teen stood while looking around at other teens standing alongside of them.”

Seaway Youth for Christ is a non-profit organization involved in a national YFC movement offering programs and activities that encourage teens to make a positive difference in their communities. Working with other North Country Groups, Seaway YFC is making an organized effort to reach local teens in crisis and recently launched Point Break, an anti-bullying/suicide prevention program.

This free movie event was made possible by donations and financial support from individuals, local businesses, the Brier Hill VFD and a grant from Stewart’s Foundation.

For more information about this event, other programs or Point Break (their “faith neutral” program for schools), contact Seaway Youth for Christ at 315-344-1268 or find them on Facebook.