Aligned Impact 2024-2027 Focus: Youth Wellbeing & Mental Health
The Problem: Our United Way is concerned with the mental and emotional wellbeing of the young people in our region. For years, youth mental health has been identified as a growing area of concern in local needs assessments and school survey data. There has consistently been an increase in the number of teens reporting feelings of sadness, depression and anxiety. Unsurprisingly, this problem was greatly exacerbated by the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 40% of local teens surveyed in 2023 reporting feelings of depression. Youth mental health has been identified as a national priority by the Surgeon General of the United States, as well as regional priority by both Cooley Dickinson Hospital and Baystate Franklin Medical Center. This is a large and complex problem and will require significant resources and many partners to address.
What we’re doing about it: UWFH is building a multi-agency approach to addressing youth wellbeing and mental health, working with both our partner agencies and other community institutions and funders. We call this strategy: aligned impact. We are investing our resources into programs that support social activities, mental health, mentoring and skill-building; activities that create community and build belonging in order to nurture the mental health and wellness of youth in our region. We also recognize that the youth of our region know what’s best for them, and are investing in projects/activities that actively seek their input in development and implementation.
Who is most at risk: While survey data shows that many of our young people are struggling, local data points to these key communities of concern:
LGBTQ+ youth
BIPOC youth
Youth living with disabilities
Youth in isolated rural areas
Youth suffering from trauma
Some numbers:
From the Community Needs Health Assessments: 79% of trans and nonbinary students reported they “felt depressed or sad most days in the past year.” Female students also had very high rates of negative mental health outcomes: 58% of them reported feeling depressed or sad, along with 33% of male students.
From the US Surgeon General’s Advisory: From 2009 to 2019, the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%; the share seriously considering attempting suicide increased by 36%; and the share creating a suicide plan increased by 44%. Between 2011 and 2015, youth psychiatric visits to emergency departments for depression, anxiety and behavioral challenges increased by 28%. Between 2007 and 2018, suicide rates among youth ages 10-24 in the US increased by 57%. Early estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics suggest there were tragically more than 6,600 deaths by suicide among the 10-24 age group in 2020.
In early 2021, emergency department visits in the United States for suspected suicide attempts were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same time period in early 2019.
For more information:
Funded Partner Organizations
These programs were awarded funding through UWFH’s Community Investment process in support of their important work toward strengthening the wellbeing and mental health of our region’s youth.
Brick House Community Resource Center: Mind/Body Art Project (MAP)
Supporting agencies: Montague Catholic Social Ministries, Center for Human Development, Montague Public Libraries
THE MAP: Mind/Body Art Project is a joint Brick House/Montague Catholic Social Ministries initiative to address the youth mental health crisis by offering trauma-informed, JEDIB-structured programming for the whole family, emphasizing youth mind/body wellness, mental health education, trauma informed arts/creative activities, dietary and other wellness activities, mentoring and (where needed) clinical support. The Brick House will be expanding operations (5:30 to 7:30) for older youth, for targeted health, mental health, and therapeutic programs.
Children's Advocacy Center of Hampshire County: Mental Health
This initiative will expand current trauma therapy services by adding additional staffing in order to serve more children, with a specific focus on underserved populations such as those from rural communities, and other children and teens who have barriers accessing mental health services.
Community Health Center of Franklin County: Portable Youth Mental Health
Supporting agencies: DIAL/SELF Youth & Community Services, Mary Lyon Foundation, Franklin County’s YMCA, Brick House, Community Action Youth Programs, Community Action Family Center, Franklin Regional School Nurses, Center for Human Development, and Communities That Care Coalition
This initiative will continue the collaborative partnerships established through the CAPV Better Together Project’s Youth Partnership to convene youth, youth-serving organizations, and direct service providers. The program will include collaborative activities between community partners to build and strengthen relationships, and CHCFC will serve as matchmaker to connect youth to the direct services they most want in accessible community locations, such as clinical therapy, and mental health and wellness education.
Hilltown Youth Performing Arts Program: Youth Recovery Theatre
The Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre is a year-round after-school program and summer camp offering intensive leadership training and skill building to young people overcoming trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression, and other behavioral health challenges. Our innovative, strength-based, holistic model utilizes trauma-informed, evidence-based best practices including harm reduction, outdoor adventure, and nature-based therapies to at-risk, rural youth.