Seeking a comprehensive approach to best support youth mental health

As concern and awareness about youth mental health grows, the Coalition to Empower Our Future along with City & State held a forum on Tuesday in Albany to discuss the factors contributing to the issue and how support systems can lead to better outcomes. 

The event, “Future in Focus: The need for a comprehensive approach to youth mental health at the Hilton in Downtown was opened by CEF Executive Director Glen Weiner, who explained the challenges youth face today. 

“From bullying to intense pressures around academics and extra-curriculars to the overuse of electronic devices, to anxiety about the economy and climate. To substance abuse issues and the continued fallout from the pandemic - the list goes on,” he said. “As youth mental health challenges continue to rise, the need for strong, accessible and community-rooted support systems has never been more urgent.” 

City & State Editor-in-Chief Ralph R. Ortega followed up with a fireside chat, joined by January Contreras, a member of the CEF Board of Directors, and Dr. Caroline Carney, a CEF Advisory Board member, all delving into the issue. 

Carney explained there is not one way to address youth mental problems, but rather a broader support- and community-based approach. 

“Every child is unique. We have to look at all of the risk factors. All of the behaviors, the physical manifestations, the family history,” she said. “As I've said earlier, all of these things to come up with that right treatment program.” 

Contreras noted that parents are also looking for resources to better navigate and address how to best help their children. “Parents that are so busy these days. a lot of parents have two jobs – sometimes three. We have to find these community-based partners. But also, where [there] are some of the tools and resources that can help a parent understand,” Contreras told attendees.

Following the fireside chat, City & State hosted a panel continuing the discussion on how to build supporting systems for young people and families. City & State Editor Peter Sterne addressed how the stigmatization surrounding mental health has changed from previous generations. National Alliance on Mental Illness of NYC’s Youth Peer Support Manager Aubrey Robinson said a shift was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We saw the impacts of social isolation on youth, the impacts of burnout on student life and work balance,” Robinson said during the panel. “So, today we're seeing youth really eager to engage in this conversation at NAMI since we've started our youth peer support programs, we have teens reaching out to us, really taking initiative.”

Coalition for Student Wellbeing Council Member Anisha Bhatnagar was in middle school during the pandemic and said she saw first-hand how lack of mental health support during formative years can impact someone’s self-esteem, confidence and social awareness. 

“Having the pandemic during this transition is what got me interested and there's a shortage of mental health professionals, and it became especially hard for students to communicate their needs to trusted adults around them,” she said. “And the lack of support just worsened the mental health issue, which got me interested in peer-to-peer counseling.” 

She said she believes that young people should have an input on designing the systems that are meant to serve them and administrators and policymakers aren’t always able to fully grasp the unique stressors that youth face today. 

Allie Riley, chief program officer at Girls on the Run, spoke of how her grassroots organization aims at reaching out to teens, specifically young girls, to help build life skills alongside exercise. 

“At Girls on the Run, we use running and other physical activities to teach life skills, build relationships and confidence,” Riley said. “This curriculum integrates movement with lessons on emotional regulation and friendship and conflict resolution and contributing back to the community. They're also setting personal goals as they prepare for a 5K celebration at the end of the season.” 

Sounds of Saving co-founder Charlie Gross noted that music was central to the human experience, mental coping and is a core part of being a young person. 

“It's central to youth culture across tastes and genres, and can be the primary basis of Identity and social bonding for many kids. Because of all this, it's a perfect entry point for some otherwise difficult conversations,” said Gross of Sounds of Saving, which uses music education to help teens improve their mental wellbeing. “For giving young people a language for emotional experience, they don't always know how to name. For creating connection with yourself and with others and ultimately for psychoeducation.” 

Ultimately, these efforts can go a long way in addressing challenges that young people face when it comes to mental health and substance abuse, New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports’s Coordinator Jamie del Rosario explained. OASAS also has its own youth-based programs through its Youth Clubhouses.

“They're non-clinical drop-in centers that are youth-led and youth-driven … completely created by the youth in the community for them and for their peers,” she said. “We're not asking them – or we're not telling them, rather – what we think they need, we're asking them, ‘What do you need? What do you need to build? How can we help you?’ And so, these programs really give that space for the youth to speak up, but also for them to learn to advocate for themselves.”

Young People in Recovery NYC Chapter Lead Shayna Persaud used a real-life story about a youth and how these efforts ultimately impacted their life for the better. She said the youth had mental health and substance abuse challenges, had been in and out of psychiatric emergency rooms for crises and faced arrest related to their substance use. 

“By the time they walked into one of our meetings, they weren't looking for another system to fix them, they were looking for people who genuinely understood what that kind of chaos and pain feels like,” she said. “So, this person started attending consistently, connecting with peers who had lived experience, getting mentorship and learning coping skills that felt real and doable. And over time, they went from feeling isolated and overwhelmed to feeling connected, supported and hopeful. Eventually, they stepped into leadership, they started their own YPR chapter, and they're now the person offering support to young people who walk in with the same fear and uncertainty they once had.” 

Another factor that was repeatedly brought up was the use of cell phones and other electronics and how it can further isolate children from others. 

New York State Office of Mental Health Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Specialist Melanie Hecker stressed the need for adults to make sure children spend time off their phones and not be constantly bombarded with things like racism, climate anxiety and poverty. 

“That concept of unplugging, at least now and again, is very important,” she told attendees. When you have all of those stressors going on at the same time, just having one day a week, or maybe every two weeks, or maybe every month, where you just turn all of that stuff off is wonderful for not letting all of the stressors of the world get to you.”