American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Post

Have you watched Roman Kemp's latest documentary, 'The Fight For Young Lives'? Delving deep into the issues of mental health and the suicide crisis among young people, it's a must-watch.   Our team at Anxend has been deeply moved by this powerful documentary, and we urge you all to watch it. It sheds light on the concerning lack of support for young people with mental health issues.    Tash, notes around the 30-minute mark, “The anxieties that young people have are growing and growing”. It's statements like these that reinforce our mission at Anxend - to intervene early and support young individuals before they reach a crisis.   The documentary highlights the vital role schools play in offering support. We're excited to announce that next week, we'll begin working with schools. We plan to work with children, the pastoral care teams, teachers, and parents, empowering them with the knowledge and tools to understand and act.   For those who may be unsure if they are struggling with anxiety, we offer a starting point. Take our free anxiety test to discover your level of anxiety and what the next steps are: https://lnkd.in/eG75KX-W

The resources page is updated with several new resources! Check it out!

The MOFG peer researchers are proud to announce that the discovery report is ready to read! 💡 The report explores 203 young people’s experiences of mental health services in Gwent, and highlights 7 key insights: 1️⃣ Staff need to be trustworthy, understanding and friendly whilst maintaining professionalism 2️⃣ Services need to be flexible and accessible to all 3️⃣ Young people lack knowledge about the mental health services available to them in Gwent 4️⃣ Young people need consistency, especially when transitioning within and between services 5️⃣ Negative experiences of services act as a barrier to young people seeking and accessing support 6️⃣ Fear of stigma impacts a young person’s willingness to reach out for support 7️⃣ Young people need to get the right support at the right time This work would not have been possible without the support from our project partners, Newport Mind, and without funding from the National Lottery Community Fund Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 If you work with young people, in mental health, or within Gwent, this is an absolute must-read! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e6JexpMP

🌟 May is #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth! 🌟 We're proud to shine a light on Elmcrest Children's Mental Health Crisis Respite Programs, serving as a true beacon of hope for children and teens in need. Our programs have been a lifeline for our community's most vulnerable. Now more than ever, it's evident that our community needs these vital services. Mental health matters and Elmcrest is making a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most. Curious about how you can support this important cause? Visit the link below to learn more about Elmcrest's mental health programs and discover how you can contribute to providing essential services to those who need them most. Together, we can make a difference.  https://lnkd.in/eCVC74ED

Sharing some of my training evaluations at the Crimes Against Children Conference 2023 📥 📝 Thank you again to everyone who planned the conference, attended, participated, and gave their best! 💓🤗 🗂️Here’s a small sample of evaluations: 📌 "Jenna did an incredible job of addressing such a complex issue by presenting empirical research, personal experience, and scripture and showing how these can be applied to help clients or individuals’ spirituality when it comes to sexual abuse of the child. This was by far my favorite presentation of the entire conference. Jenna was incredibly humble, knowledgeable, professional, and kind. She took her time addressing the many questions folks had at the end of her presentation and you can tell she really loves what she does. She is incredible and I hope she will be a speaker at CACC 2024.” 📌 "Thank you for addressing the spiritual trauma of victims. It is a major issue that is rarely addressed." 📌 "I really appreciated how this presentation was both research-based and supplemented with anecdote. I have more hope for survivors flourishing in the future after this presentation.” 📌 “This training should be presented in other languages, very informative and helpful. We need to reach the masses." 📌"This was the most impactful session I've attended!!" 📌 "Thank you for providing this information...As a survival of child sexual assault I can now make my peace with God.For years I couldn't get past why God continue to let me go through traumatic experience... " 📌 "Thank you for addressing spirituality within the scope of child sexual assault. It seems to be a component that is overlooked which has always made me very sad. I appreciate all you do!" 📌"Best one of the conference." 📌 "This material needs to be everywhere and needs to be commonplace.” 📌 "I highly recommend this training to mental health providers.” 💻 📱 To book your in person or virtual training visit: https://jennaquinn.net/ 💻📱

Following World Mental Health Day, it’s crucial to acknowledge that our kids are not okay. Not only here in the United States, but globally. Around the world, the number of young people struggling with mental health disorders is increasing, and the majority are not getting the help they need. 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. That’s why the Child Mind Institute marked World Mental Health Day this past Tuesday by convening a panel featuring members of our Youth Council in conversation with Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. These remarkable young people and visionary leaders came together to discuss the mental health challenges facing kids today, the causes of this crisis, and strategies that everyone — from kids themselves to world leaders — can use to help.⁣ ⁣ “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢.” – Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff You can view a full recording of their discussion in the link below. Conversations like these go a long way toward sharing crucial knowledge and eradicating stigma, and we hope you’ll take the time to watch. We’re grateful to Mr. Emhoff, Dr. Murthy, and Alexis and Wyatt from our Youth Council for their candor and leadership, and to the United Nations International School for hosting the event. And at this critical moment in the field of children’s mental health, thanks also go to all of you for joining us in our mission to transform the lives of children and families who are struggling.

Early mental health support should be easy to access, local, and available to every young person who needs it. Today the Government have announced £5 million funding for ten existing early support hubs. This is a step in the right direction. It recognises the vital role they play in bringing early mental health support and advice to young people. Tens of thousands of young people have fought hard to fund the hubs, so we see this as a victory for the campaign. Early support hubs work. There is already evidence to show this. Early intervention services are desperately needed across the country – imagine the difference they could make to so many young people who are struggling with their mental health. We want the Government to commit to having a hub in every local community. With now over a million referrals to children and young people's mental health services every year, we know that the struggle to keep up with demand is only increasing. It's time for the government to #EndTheWait.

Anxious Nation: Understanding the Anxiety and Mental Health Crisis at the National and State Level October 18, 2023, 8:30am - 12:00 pm On October 18th, the NH Association of Special Education Administrators, the NH Association of School Psychologists and the NH Association of School Principals are gathering critical partners from across the state to look deeply into the anxiety and mental health crisis in New Hampshire and Nationwide. This will be a convening of educators, mental health professionals, policymakers, advocacy groups, parents, and others to view the movie Anxious Nation and participate in a facilitated discussion on implications for NH, addressing the crisis, and critical next steps. This event is not just a viewing of Anxious Nation. There will be an opportunity to dig deeper into understanding the wave of anxiety and mental health challenges that have hit NH’s children, youth, and their families. Most importantly, the intent is to leave the screening with potential action steps and what we can do as collective stakeholders to address the challenge. For school administrators registering for this event, it is strongly suggested that they come with a team from their educational community and include a mental health professional. 

Youth mental health is a critical issue that requires our attention. After school programs can provide a vital connection and resource for young people facing mental health challenges. Let's support youth mental health and after school program opportunities to create safe spaces for our future generations. Remember, mental health matters. #youthmentalhealth #afterschoolprograms #mentalhealthmatters