Laura has been a star athlete getting a high grade in school, but she feels like every day is an endless cycle, and then she cries to sleep.
He doesn’t want to take medicine or therapy, even though his friend Chris wants to try it.
“I prefer not to talk to you about it. I’m sorry, but most nights I don’t feel like waking up in the morning, ”Laura said.
Laura and Chris are not real people, but from a script group created by members of NAACP Norwich Branch Robertsine Duncan Youth Council to highlight the mental health impact of the pandemic and other factors.
Ross Blinderman, chairman of the Norwich Free Academy Senior and Youth Council Health Committee, said he wanted to start the conversation after seeing the struggles of other adults and members, but also his own.
“We all need to be open to conversation,” Blinderman said.
Blinderman said he lost contact with friends and had less social interaction as a result of the pandemic. With the loss of interaction, he lost motivation and “seemed to be prolonging his life,” for himself and those around him.
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“I almost felt like a hermit,” Blinderman said.
In January, the American Psychological Association declared a crisis in the mental health of young Americans. While 1 in 5 children face a mental health crisis, only 20% of children receive mental health services, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
What is being done in the face of the youth mental health crisis?
Across the state, measures are being taken to pass Public Law 22-47, the Child Mental Health Act, passed in May, among others. The action will create new positions and entities responsible for mental health, and will include grants to hire mental health workers in schools, summer camps and other places. It is also expected to improve the cost of mental health care and allow ambulances to be used in the mental health crisis of young people by 2024.
In addition, $ 10 million has been earmarked for use by state funds for school health centers, and $ 30 million has been earmarked for state funding to increase 24/7 mobile crisis services, according to state budget note Cathy Osten. office.
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Pandemic and mental health
Located at Generations Family Health, Norwich, Willimantic, Danielson and Putnam, it reported on May 11 that staff were increasing the demand for mental health services for young people and had expanded their own capabilities to meet that demand.
Vernalisa Walton-Bogel, practice manager for Norwich Behavioral Health at United Community and Family Services, also said she is seeing more young clients.
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“The quarantine and all of that has had a huge impact on our youth,” Walton-Bogel said.
Barbara Crouch, chief marketing officer of Thames Valley Council for Community Action, said the challenge she faces is a pandemic and a greater need for mental health services.
Some of the challenges of accessing mental health services are transporting people to appointments and the fact that New London County has a small number of doctors compared to the population, especially clinicians who are people of color.
Crouch also said his organization partners with other organizations to help people get mental health care, and also helps people with co-payments and get HUSKY Health plan or other insurance from the state of Connecticut.
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“Every time you have poverty, there’s an equity issue, so we try to work with our partners to alleviate it, but it’s there,” Crouch said.
“No community without touching”
Walton-Bogel believes that people in general have difficulty spreading mental health issues, and that things can grow to the point where a tragic accident or premature death can occur.
“They’re supposed to be a small group of people, but there’s no community that is untouched by mental health,” Walton-Bogel said.
Then, according to Walton-Bogel, it’s important to connect people with resources before they reach a critical point.
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“It’s about protecting and connecting our young people,” Walton-Bogel said.
Walton-Bogel said it’s best to start recognizing mental health issues when people are young so they can be treated sooner.
“In the past, these things were not taken into account,” Walton-Bogel said, adding that mental health problems can be confused with going through a phase at a younger age.
The importance of early identification of mental health problems
Joe Zuzel, regional director of community health at Backus and Windham Hospital, said not treating mental health while people are younger can have an impact on quality of life, such as graduation rates and the ability to get housing and work.
“It is filtered in every aspect of an individual’s life, just like any other chronic disease,” Zuzel said.
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Mental health issues can have a greater impact on the community. Zuzel said many of the people he sees are affected by others with mental health problems, from family to co-workers. Specifically, Walton-Bogel said mental health problems can lead to substance abuse, which can later affect employment, unexpected overdoses, and family units.
“A lot of the young people we see don’t want to look for traditional treatment, and they say‘ but I use these things, ’and they’re often the substances they use to treat themselves,” Walton-Bogel said.
The stigma associated with getting help
According to Walton-Bogel, treatment can be therapy or medication or a combination of both. Zuzel said there may also be a stigma surrounding receiving mental health treatment, which may be hidden.
“For our minority and underprivileged population, there is a great deal of stigma around mental health for everyone,” Zuzel said.
Walton-Bogel said he sometimes sees children who have trouble communicating with their mental health problems with their parents.
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“This is what’s going on,” they will say. I don’t know how to tell my parents; our culture doesn’t follow that, ‘said Walton-Bogel.
Blinderman said he wants all the different cultures in the local community to have access to the same tools and resources to deal with mental health.
How else can mental health be addressed?
The American Psychological Association proposes three points to better address the mental health of young people. This includes bringing mental health to the classroom, training teachers to deal with trauma, and “long-term” resilience programs by funding more mental health professionals in schools to create more national resources.
Walton-Bogel also believes that there should be more training in schools and support for parents focused on mental health, as disciplinary behavior in schools has increased before the local and national pandemic.
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“When these children are expelled, they still don’t get what they need …. their mental health is still uncontrolled,” said Walton Bogel.
However, Blinderman said it is important to continue the conversation throughout the community, and not just with parents and teachers.
“The key is to work on things like this, as we’ve all experienced,” Blinderman said.
Zuzel said exercises like the NAACP Norwich Branch scripts, which were discussed and discussed earlier this month, could help break down these communication barriers, especially since recent events and technology seem to be greater than these barriers.
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Local resources include United Community and Family Service’s Youth Mobile Crisis program, case managers and team therapy, Hartford Healthcare’s youth programs and hospital services, and collaboration with organizations such as Madonna Place and the Thames Valley Center for Community Action. .
“We’re seeing a lot of current funding and other resources start to open up and mobilize,” Zuzel said.