As middle and high schools prepare for the new school year by gathering materials, finalizing their schedules, and picking up their student IDs, they will notice a small but important change. On the back of their IDs is a phone number – 866-662-1235. It is the National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline. How did this number end up on the student IDs and why is it important?

A few years ago, as a New Hampshire State Representative, I was contacted by a 14-year-old constituent named Matthew Brown. He asked me to file a bill to add an eating disorder hotline to student IDs. I asked him what problem this bill was intended to solve. What he told me was alarming: At least 22% of all children and adolescents suffer from eating disorders, and very few receive treatment. Eating disorders have the second highest mortality rate of any mental illness and result in tragic deaths from suicide and physical impairment. Because eating disorder treatment is most effective when started early, and so many young people suffer from them, it makes sense to add the hotline to a facility that is accessible to students, their families, and friends. With the support of the House, Senate, and Governor of New Hampshire, this bill passed earlier this summer.

Eating disorders are a complicated illness that robs young people of their potential; it leaves families helpless and often hopeless. But by calling this number, people can be put in touch with trained professionals who can put them on the path to recovery and a hopeful future. I don’t know how many lives this new law will save, but I am sure it will.

So, dear Granite State University students, as you begin a new school year, know that the Eating Disorders Helpline is not only a way to get help, but also symbolizes the power a teen can have to make a change.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.