BURLINGTON, Vt., June 27 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, with Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), will hold a town meeting on the youth mental health crisis on Thursday, June 29.
Together, the Vermont Congressional Delegation will give an update on the actions being taken at the federal level to combat the mental health crisis, and will hear from young people, parents, educators, physicians, mental health professionals, and community members about the challenges young people are facing. This community conversation will focus on how we can work together to address the needs of young people and the needs of their families.
In 2021, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Children’s Hospital Association – which collectively represent more than 77,000 physicians and more than 200 children’s hospitals – joined together to declare a “national emergency” in the mental health of children and young people in the United States. The effects of that crisis is also being felt in Vermont. According to recently released data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 35 percent of high schoolers and about 20 percent of middle schoolers in Vermont during 2021 reported experiencing poor mental health “most of the time, or always.”
Today, suicide is one of the leading causes of death for young people in the U.S. and estimates show more than 60 percent of children who are struggling with depression do not get any mental health care. Meanwhile, as record numbers of young people are in need of mental health care, some 158 million Americans – nearly half the country’s population – live in a mental health care desert and about 80 percent of the country faces a severe shortage of child psychiatrists.
Earlier this month, as Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, Sanders held ahearing on the youth mental health crisis. In the past year, Sanders also held alivestream discussion with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on youth mental health and has met with more than 5,000 Vermont students both virtually and in-person through town meetings and roundtable discussions. In April, Balint introduced the Peer Education and Emergency Response for Mental Health Act to establish a grant program that supports training for teachers, school personnel, parents, caregivers, and students in mental health first aid. In May, Balint introduced the Protecting Young Minds Online Act and Welch reintroduced the Digital Platform Commission Act. Both bills look to address the effects of new technology and social media on consumers.
Details:
What: Town Meeting on Youth Mental Health Crisis
When: Thursday, June 29, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Spaulding High School, 155 Ayers St, Barre
Who:
Senator Bernie Sanders
Senator Peter Welch
Representative Becca Balint
Notes: All attendees must follow Vermont Department of Health guidance and monitor symptoms. Attendees are encouraged to take a rapid COVID-19 test prior to the event.
