We are very appreciative that Governor Hochul has put mental health in the forefront as witnessed by this year’s budget. Another example of her leadership in this area is the Youth Mental Health Summit taking place next Thursday at the Javits Center in New York City. She has brought together National and State experts to address the mental health needs of youth.
There is a need for structural change in the way we respond to youth. MHANYS School Mental Health Resource and Training Center has helped respond to needs in schools by working with Schools, the State Education Department and the Office of Mental Health to help change school environments and educate teachers, staff, youth and families about mental health challenges, suicide prevention, trauma and a number of other topics. To find out more about this work, go to www.mentalhealthednys.org. We also strongly support the work of the Governor and Commissioner Sullivan around the huge increase of school based mental health clinics.
In addition, MHANYS has received funding from the New York State Office of Mental Health to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid and Teen Mental Health First Aid across the State. These trainings are offered at no cost to interested individuals. If you are interested in finding out more about this initiative, please reach out to Katie Oldakowski koldakowski@mhanys.org. I look forward to further addressing this important evidence based initiative at the Youth Summit.
WHEN: Thursday, June 15, 2023
TIME: 10:00AM to 3:00PM
WHERE: Javits Center, 429 11th Avenue, New York City
RSVP: Capacity is limited, RSVP required by Monday, June 12th. Please contact mentalhealth@exec.ny.gov with any questions.
On Thursday, June 15, Governor Kathy Hochul will convene a Youth Mental Health Summit expected to host over 1000 New Yorkers. The summit follows a statewide Youth Mental Health Listening Tour aimed at exploring the issues impacting the mental health of youth throughout New York State. At these listening sessions- the first of which was held in New York City— adolescents were asked to discuss how the pandemic impacted their mental health; the evolving role social media has played in their lives; how schools can promote wellness among their students; the types of mental health programs they could envision helping them at school; and the advice they’d give to their peers struggling with mental health issues.
The Summit will bring together a broad array of national subject matter experts and stakeholders from the mental health, education, technology, and law enforcement fields to further discuss the challenges and experiences impacting the well-being of our youth, including the role social media plays in their lives. The goal of the Summit is to further explore and advise on future policy initiatives that can help tackle the youth mental health crisis.
