An Edinburgh teenager is taking on a charity walk with his grandad after seeing a number of peers lose their life to suicide.
Max Smith, 13, will take on the charity hike in the Pentlands next weekend with his grandad George Higgins from Port Seton.
The school boy, who grew up in the Saughton area of the city, moved to West Lothian but still stays in Edinburgh every fortnight.
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Growing up he has seen the impact of teens struggling with their mental health and urges others to be kind and reach out to talk to someone if they are finding things hard.
Tragically 13-year-old Devin Gordon also from West Lothian took his own life earlier this year, which broke Max's heart and left the community devastated.
Now the youngster wants to do everything he can to raise money for YoungMinds a youth mental health charity and take on a charity hike dedicated to Devin.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live he said: "I grew up in the Saughton area but now live in Armadale, although I still stay at Saughton every fortnight with my dad.
"The cause is important to me because i felt like there isn't enough awareness for charities like Young Minds and maybe if there was more awareness teens wouldn't feel so alone at times and have people to talk to that could help.
"I heard about the boys, Devin Gordon who was 13 from Bathgate and Drayke Hardman who was 12 From USA.
"Although I didn't personally know the boys, hearing the story of what they had to go through made my heart break and I really wanted to do something to prevent this happening again."
The inspiring youngster opened up about how difficult it was to witness someone his own age take their life, unable to get the help needed.
He said: "I can relate to them because I am 13 and around the same age. They had their whole life ahead of them.
"It is such a shame and very sad, I wish people would just be kind.
"I can only try and maybe make a difference even if it is a small one to raise some awareness for YoungMinds and some money for the charity."
Max will be taking on the challenge next weekend he said: "Originally I was doing the walk with my grandad as we are really close and he is really into his walking, often walking the Pentland Hills and he has even been to Mount Everest base camp.
"He was in the army and is fit, so he was the person I knew would be able to help with my walk.
"It was my grandad that suggested we walk the Pentland Hills, now my mum, step dad, grandad, nana and also some of my grandad's friends are joining us.
"I am really looking forward to the walk and doing it in honour of Devin & Drayke and any other teens suffering."
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It's not easy being a teenager and can be a a difficult time with many stressful situations, the 13-year-old explained its important to look after your mental health by taking time out to do something you enjoy and having something to speak to.
He said: "As a teen myself i have my up's & down's just like every other teen. My advice that i follow would be to do something i love like playing football and listening to music.
but most importantly talking to a trusted adult. if you have a bad day just remember you are always loved, and there are places like YoungMinds to support you.
Finally Max added: "I hope I can raise awareness for teen mental health and much needed funds and a reminder to all to be kind."
You can read more about the thoughtful young teen's charity hike and donate here.
You can seek help by contacting Samaritans 24/7 free on 116 123 or by visiting Samaritans.org.
