An October survey shows 90% of U.S. adults believe we're in a mental health crisis. But it's not just adults experiencing these challenges.
The CDC reports 40% of high schoolers feel sad and hopeless.
Over at Dolan Lexus Auto Group, Connect Washoe County is hosting their first annual Washoe County Youth Mental Health Summit.
A collaborative effort started by the Children's Cabinet, Renown Health, the Washoe County School District and the State Office of Suicide Prevention, to bring awareness into what steps they should take next to help the youth in the community.
They're using the panel as a call to action.
Dr. Kristina Deeter, the Chair of Pediatrics at the UNR School of Medicine & Physician in Chief at Renown Children's Hospital says, "We have a community of people in there who are dedicated to working together, who want to get to know each other and who really are here for the kids in our community and want to help them."
Dr. Kristina Deeter says there's an ongoing slow deterioration with mental health in the youth population. She explains "We've had issues with pediatric mental health, and we've had kids struggle with depression and anxiety for years and years." But the isolation the pandemic brought has shone a light on these issues. She adds "Once you remove children from their teachers who are really their support system, it became more raw that they were depending on their families and for some kids the home is not a safe space."
The panel spoke on stigma of mental health, and how they can reduce it and what the statistics are looking like.
The number one problem they are seeing right now in the youth is depression and anxiety however, there are some positive signs…"Youth are really becoming very well educated around mental health and mental wellbeing." Says Stephanie Woodard, the Department of Mental Health Services Senior Advisor on Behavioral Health. They also talked about how helpful it can be for kids having conversations with their peers and adults about their mental health. Woodard mentions "Having conversations, sometimes even challenging conversations, is the right place to start."
The need for mental health resources is increasing but officials are saying Northern Nevada is underserved of those resources. Woodard says, "The entire state has a severe workforce shortage when it comes to behavioral health providers it's something that we absolutely need to find solutions for." Kim Young, the CEO of the Children's Cabinet adds "We have kids who are struggling, we have kids who don't know where to go for help, we have families that are asking for help so when we talk about that part of it, we need more resources."
