According to NAMI, there is an undeniable and growing mental health crisis that demands both attention and action.
Covid-19 has only made things worse.
Nearly 2 in 5 adults struggled with mental health issues in 2020, compared to about 1 in 5 adults before the pandemic. Among adults with mental illness, only 46% received treatment in 2020, a number that is far lower among Black Americans (37%), Hispanic/Latinx (35%) and Asian Americans (21%).
The crisis is especially acute among youth and young adults, as trends that had already predated the pandemic have turned even more ominous.
In 2020, 75% of people aged 18–24 reported at least one mental health or substance use concern.
In 2021, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher among adolescent girls than in 2020.
Today's guests are working to make things better for their fellow students who have mental illness issues.
They are Mindy’s cousin's daughter, Claire Orth, who just graduated from the University of North Dakota, and Taylor Keane, her granddaughter, who will graduate from high school in Washington D.C. in two weeks.
1.Please introduce yourself and share how you became interested in mental illness.
2. What do you see on your respective campuses so far as fellow students experiencing mental illnesses? Could you give a specific example?
3. How have those observations/experiences inspired you to help? (Claire took some training at her school so she could better help fellow students and chose schizophrenia for her senior capstone projects. Taylor also chose mental illness for a school project and for her Youth In Government legislation. She's currently doing an internship at the Treatment Advocacy Center where she is focusing on youth.)
4. All of us wrote in our books about missing early signs of our sons' illnesses. Do you think your friends' parents today are doing any better?
5. What would you say to parents whose children are in high school or college and experiencing signs of mental illness?
6. Are your friends aware that young people who smoke marijuana are five times more likely to have psychosis?
7. Have you noticed anything that your schools have done that have helped students? Is mental illness part of the curriculum? School support staff?
Links:
https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
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Randye Kaye -Broadcaster, Actress, Voice Talent, Speaker, and Author (“Ben Behind his Voices”, “Happier Made Simple”)
Miriam Feldman – Artist, Mom, Author “He Came in With It”
Mindy Greiling – member of the Minnesota House of Representatives for twenty years. Activist, Legislator, Author (“Fix What You Can
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Randye Kaye
Mindy Greiling
Miriam (Mimi) Feldman