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Amber, an 18-year-old high school senior in Cedar Rapids, walked silently down the side of the street for several minutes, chewing on her lower lip and pondering a way to describe how being a young person with a mental illness feels. When she suddenly stopped, it was to point to a collection of ice-encrusted rocks at the edge of a puddle.

"You want to know what it feels like?" she asked while bending down to feel the ice with her fingertips. "It feels like you are frozen in cold, cloudy ice. You sort of see what's going on around you, but not clearly. You don't really hear anything. You are separate from everyone else -- alone."

Amber, who is being treated for bipolar disorder, took two steps away from the icy rocks before turning back. She quickly raised her foot so the heel of her boot could deliver a blow to the ice, freeing the rocks.

"What we need most of all is someone willing to break the ice," she said.

Kathy Dorff, project coordinator for Support a Friend Iowa, said bringing support to young adults with mental illness is the primary goal of a newly launched website by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

"The Web site is basically the cornerstone for an overall campaign -- the Iowa Campaign for Mental Health Recovery," Dorff said. "We developed the site as the cornerstone piece of this particular project because the target audience for the message is young adults, 18 to 25. We know that the Internet seems to be one of the best ways to reach people in that age group."

Site visitors can find explanations of mental disorders that frequently impact young adults, a forum to exchange messages, suggestions on how to begin a conversation and a list of resources.

"Statistics show that young adults, 18 to 25, have a greater likelihood than the general population to suffer from mental illness, but they are also less likely to seek assistance or help for it," Dorff said. "This is a time in life when a lot of young people are just entering their own lives. They are basically either in college or beginning life outside of school. There are a lot of new decisions and perhaps stresses that they are facing. It's a particularly good time to make sure that young adults are staying healthy and on track."

According to information on the site, 27 percent of young adults have diagnosable forms of mental illness. Due to associated stigmas, many do not seek treatment. One the resources available is a list of possible red flags for mental disorders so friends can help motivate friends to talk and seek treatment.

"The main thing we want to do is get the word out to young people that if they, someone in their family or their friend suffers from mental illness, they are not alone," Dorff said. "They should seek help. They should be a friend to the person with a mental illness. There isn't a stigma associated with a mental illness, any more so than there is one for people who suffer from diabetes or heart disease."

In addition to the Web presence, the awareness campaign will also be developing informational brochures and flyers to be distributed at campus health centers and to resident assistants at university dormitories. Although the project has not yet utilized social-networking sites, Dorff says she anticipates that it will in the future.

"We are willing to explore many avenues in order to distribute this message," she said. "It's important for young Iowans to know they aren't alone and to know that they should support a friend with a mental illness just as they would support a friend with any other illness."

The Iowa campaign is in coordination with the national What a Difference a Friend Makes campaign, created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) in partnership with the National Ad Council. The Iowa project, as well as projects in many other states, operates with a SAMHSA grant.