“What do young people in crisis need from their communities?”, a report by Crisis Text Line and Common Good Labs, offers solutions to the youth mental health crisis based on over 87,000 anonymized conversations with young people who talked about what helps them cope.

Young people in the United States are experiencing a concerning surge in mental health issues, with high rates of depression and suicidal thoughts.

 

Despite some slight improvements, the problem persists across different regions. Collaborative efforts, such as partnerships between organizations like Common Good Labs, are seeking solutions by analyzing data to understand and improve access to vital mental health resources for young people.

Research Highlights Include:

  • Adolescents want “opportunities for social connection”, aside from just “therapy”.

  • These opportunities for social connection include mental health services, engagement in the arts, exercise and sports programming, outdoor spaces and nature (including walkable neighbourhoods), and books and audiobooks.
  • Community funding that enables opportunities for social connection have decreased recently. 
  •  “Young people lack access to community resources that would support their mental health”.
  • “Leaders would benefit from reframing the way they think about mental health support for youth.”

Read the full report from Crisis Text Line here >>