A scan of online resources related to youth in crisis shows that most don’t address the role of youth voice. This includes a website representing the government-funded organizations that make up the country’s mental health services delivery system.
Share developmentally appropriate information and limit media exposure during a crisis. Also, encourage teens to express feelings and consider volunteer or other productive activities to support families and communities affected by tragedy.
Mental Health
While everyone may have mental health concerns from time to time, they become a mental illness when they are ongoing and cause distress. Luckily, most can be treated with talk therapy and medicines.
Mental health is an essential part of overall wellness. Children and adolescents need to be screened for mental health challenges and given the support they need to overcome them.
A key strategy is to promote and support evidence-based initiatives such as incorporating adolescent mental health into primary care, creating safer school environments and increasing student connectedness. For example, research shows that when teens feel like their peers at school care about them, they are less likely to experience poor mental health. These types of proven programs are not only cost-effective, but they also offer a great opportunity to normalize mental health conversations and remove barriers that prevent young people from seeking help.
Substance Abuse
In a time when the drug supply is increasingly contaminated with fentanyl, it’s more dangerous than ever to use illegal drugs. Those with mental health conditions and trauma are particularly at risk for substance abuse and overdoses.
A combination of factors can contribute to a youth’s initial drug use, including peer pressure, lack of social support, impulsivity and depression. Youth with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD are more likely to progress from experimentation to addiction.
Substance use can lead to physical health risks, such as a lack of nutrition or liver damage from alcohol and other substances, and can cause academic problems that contribute to truancy or declining grades. It also can lead to legal and family conflict.
In addition, adolescent substance abuse often leads to involvement in gangs and criminal justice issues like domestic violence, homicide and other forms of illicit income-generating crimes. This can drain family resources and create a cycle of dependency that leads to greater demands for juvenile and adult justice services.
Homelessness
Homelessness is a complex issue that can have a profound impact on individuals’ health and well-being. It is defined as a lack of affordable, permanent housing in combination with limited access to income opportunities and social services.
Homeless people are more likely to experience a range of acute and chronic health problems. Living in congregate shelters increases risk for respiratory infections, while a lack of stable housing and frequent moves can disrupt access to healthcare. Unable to pay for medication and transportation can worsen health issues, while missing vaccinations and routine check-ups increases risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
Youth who are homeless can have particularly severe mental health challenges. Research suggests that homeless adolescents are particularly susceptible to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as intrusive thoughts and nightmares. This article explores the occurrence of trauma-related symptoms and needs among homeless adolescents, while offering a strength-based intervention model for understanding, identifying, and beginning to address these needs within their cultural context and experience of homelessness.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a growing issue in the United States and around the world. Each year millions of men, women and children are lured by false promises of a better life to countries such as the United States where they are exploited for commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims can be of any age, gender, race, national origin and social or economic status. The crime is perpetrated by criminal enterprises, loose-knit decentralized criminal networks and individuals. Traffickers can be foreign nationals or U.S. citizens, family members or acquaintances or strangers.
NN4Y works with partners including community-based organizations, faith-based groups, workers’ rights and refugee and migrant services organizations, and health care providers to address human trafficking. The organizations offer direct intervention, crisis care, case management, culturally relevant mental health, legal advocacy, housing and a survivor leadership program. They also work to shift the public’s perception and policy by providing education and training. Survivors of sex and labor trafficking also receive clinical services, mentorship and preventive awareness training.