Supporting kids’ mental health services begins locally
Here in the United States, poor mental health among children remains a substantial concern. Recent data from the Federal Government’s Household Pulse Survey found 42.1% of U.S. households with children had at least one child showing symptoms of mental health struggles. Our country is not alone in this; in fact, more than one in seven adolescents globally live with a mental health condition. There are differing opinions as to what caused this crisis, but here’s what Floridians can do to put mental health services at the forefront for children and young people.
Even before the COVID19 pandemic, mental health emerged as a critical issue for youth. It’s true that the pandemic exacerbated many of these problems, leaving children and teens feeling more isolated, anxious and depressed than ever before, but this ball had been rolling long before “coronavirus” ever entered our lexicon. Much of it came to head in 2010, when a social media app called Instagram emerged. I was 12, and like many of my middle school classmates, I was drawn to its content, which centered on artistic expression and was then dominated by photographers. By the time I was a senior in high school, it had become one of the most popular social media apps in the world, and its original purpose had warped. There was even a word created for those using it to monetize and amass large followings — influencers.
Questions like, “Who am I, where do I fit into the world and am I lovable?” have always made navigating adolescence difficult. IN past times, we would have answered these questions on our own, but access to the personal lives of celebrities and people in other tax brackets, age groups and countries meant that we were no longer comparing ourselves to the kids on our street, but rather, everyone in the world. As a result, we saw an increase in cyberbullying, photo manipulation and depression among adolescents, especially teen girls, as “normal” became progressively out of our reach.
The accelerating mental health crisis that ensued was compounded with other factors and met by an unprepared and underfunded health care system. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health in 20202021, Florida is next to last among U.S. states in the percentage of youth with a mental health disorder that receive care, followed only by Utah. Resources are so scarce that there are currently 10 counties in Florida without a single psychologist and 17 without a single psychiatrist, the CDC reports. Of those children lucky enough to be located within a county that does offer mental health services, only 42.5% of those with a diagnosed mental illness received counseling or treatment.
However, thanks to the efforts of concerned citizens, change has slowly come. This past June, Florida directed all school districts to employ more schoolbased mental health providers, thus expanding and enhancing services and reducing the ratio of students to staff — a small, yet hard won victory. If stigma and underfunding crippled our mental health services to such an extent, what have they done to the countries — and children — that need them the most?
While all young people across the world grapple with the same coming-of-age questions as I did, many face additional challenges that I did not, such as conflict, displacement and political instability. All countries are facing a huge gap between mental health needs and access to quality services. What can we do to close that gap?
In Congress, The Mental Health in International Development and Humanitarian Settings Act (MINDS Act) is legislation aimed at improving coordination of and access to mental health services for young people in the countries that need it most. It supports the integration of mental health services in U.S. foreign assistance programming.
Floridians can join me in urging local, state and federal lawmakers to provide resources for mental health among children and young people in our community and across the United States