Mental health crisis
Monday numbers: The youth mental health crisis
Last week, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services held its eighth in a series of state-wide town halls on mental health. Held in Winston-Salem, the discussion focused on the crisis in youth mental health apparent in North Carolina and across the nation.
“Behavioral health is essential to health,” DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley told the standing-room-only crowd in the Forsyth County Board Commissioners chamber Thursday. “For far too long we have divided up physical and behavioral health. And for far too long we just didn’t fund and support behavioral health in a way that made it foundational. And we’re changing that - one conversation at a time, one strategy at a time.”
‘We are sinking’: More anxiety, more violence, and a shortage of NC healthcare workers
State lawmakers get an earful during mental health town hall "Folks, we have a huge problem with mental health," state Senator Jim Burgin (R-Harnett) told a room full of people at a town hall in Kannapolis last week. Sharing the stage with North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley and three other Republican legislators, Sen. Burgin said lawmakers wanted to hear directly from the public about mental health and substance abuse challenges in advance of the upcoming legislative session.
Monday numbers: Our children are hurting and here’s why
As parents busy themselves gathering last minute back-to-school items for their children, North Carolina's educators are prepping for what could be one of the most challenging years on record. Masks and social-distancing will be less common this year, but the pandemic has left an indelible mark on our children. A new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation documents that children are struggling with anxiety and depression at unprecedented levels.
Monday numbers: A closer (and sobering) look at NC’s response to the mental health needs of the state’s children
"We've known for years what works in public education, but we've allowed our differences and our fears to stand in our way." State Board of Education Chairman Eric Davis told members the House Select Committee on an Education System for North Carolina’s Future last week that the state must rapidly increase the number of skilled professional psychologists, social workers and school counselors to help students after two years of pandemic stresses.
Congressional testimony: Alcohol use rates “staggering,” 40% of U.S. adults report experiencing anxiety or depression
Prior to the pandemic, one in 10 American adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression. Over the past two years, that rate has skyrocketed to four in 10 adults — 40%. On Wednesday members of the powerful U.S. House Ways & Means Committee held its first hearing on mental health in more than a decade.