Here4YOUth: Because Mental Health Matters

By Ryan G. Van Cleave | January 2022

Our nation’s youth are facing a mental health crisis, says the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association. And over recent years, the situation has become even more critical. The COVID-19 pandemic has left tens of thousands of children nationwide without a primary or secondary caregiver—contributing to soaring rates of youth anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and violence.

Locally, the Child Protection Center is reporting more acute issues of abuse than ever before. These children have greater needs because there’s greater trauma—and trauma often translates into behavior issues. It’s hard to imagine, but we have three- and four-year-old kids being kicked out of preschool for disruptive behavior because of trauma, anxiety, and an inability to cope. 

Community Partnership

Enter Here4YOUth, a mental health initiative spearheaded by Gulf Coast Community Foundation and Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. Gulf Coast’s Senior Community Investment Officer, Jennifer Johnston, has been involved with the initiative from the start. The good news, she says, is we have a community that’s able to respond. “We have expert local providers and treatments that work. We will continue to fund interventions that bring care to children and students—to fill the gaps. We need a strong safety net for families and children.”

“Working at Gulf Coast allows me to partner with all sectors- nonprofits, government, business, and local stakeholders,” Johnston says, “to look at how we can improve our community in the long run and discover how we can build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.” Clearly, Here4YOUth is designed to do exactly that—improve the community and help it thrive, even in the face of a global emergency.

The idea for Here4YOUth came about in 2018, Johnston notes, when “key partners—the school district, nonprofits, and law enforcement agencies—came to Gulf Coast and said the lead issue in the Sarasota community was the need to improve mental health care for youth and families, because our system of care wasn’t working.” 

Research-Based Approach

Gulf Coast and Barancik Foundation commissioned the University of South Florida to study the strengths and gaps in our mental health system of care for youth. They identified youths as people up to age 24, because three quarters of all chronic mental illnesses begin by the age of 24. “We thought that if we could start there and improve the system of care for youth up to age 24, then that would really help us as a community to get the largest return on investment,” Johnston says.

The study concluded that families need better support in navigating existing services. People feel reluctant to talk about mental health challenges, so they’re less likely to share what they’ve learned and help one another. “And we need to strengthen the system of care, particularly with recurring funding,” Johnston adds. “We need more services and support where the youth are.”

Those findings led to more than 100 meetings of community stakeholders. One of the first action plans to emerge was funding for a new position for the Sarasota/Manatee branch of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Sarah Miller, who serves in that new position as the Family & Peer Services Director, is right there in meetings with families in crisis, and when they’re overwhelmed, she says, “Okay, here’s the next step.” And she helps them move effectively through the system so both youth and families get adequate mental health support. It’s making a difference, but there’s more to do.

Providing More Support

NAMI has often been referred to as “the best-kept secret” for mental health. Although NAMI doesn’t offer clinical services, support networks are found at NAMI, and these are critical components to long-term mental wellness. Students can use NAMI’s services for free, after all. “Sadly, so many youth and families are not aware of NAMI and so miss this valuable partnership on their recovery journeys,” Miller reports. 

The pandemic has increased stressors for families and youth mental health. For example, physical isolation exacerbated pre-existing mental health challenges, increased social anxiety, and enabled social media/tech addictions among youth. 

“Families often complain of their child’s inability to cope or to use appropriate social skills, perform general life skills (cleaning up after themselves) or daily self-care, such as showers and brushing teeth,” along with decreased academic performance and disinterest in other social activities, says Miller. “Furthermore, while many mental health services were only being offered virtually, many youth refused to engage in virtual appointments and parents were frustrated by the limitations of options to address these mounting concerns. The Here4YOUth Initiative enabled NAMI to be responsive to our families’ needs and concerns, committing to offer support to both the parent and youth as requested, often in-person, following CDC recommended guidelines.”

Those who need help can’t always get it right away. For example, there’s often a sizable waitlist to see a psychiatrist or to get into intensive therapy. One strategy under consideration is funding a Mental Health District, the first in the state. In addition, an expert Mental Health Advisory Task Force has been formed to share findings with the county commission.

Based on the experts’ recommendations, changes are expected to follow. One likely goal will be to eliminate wait lists. After all, early intervention is far less expensive than waiting until problems escalate into criminal justice or substance abuse issues, child welfare concerns, or involuntarily admittance to a mental health facility through the Baker Act. 

Meeting the Need

Research shows that about $44 million is being spent each year on youth behavioral health in Sarasota County, with almost 75% of that coming from local sources, including philanthropy. Yet there’s more to be done. Emergency services are far more costly than supporting families when issues first arise, but local human service providers are overwhelmed with calls and needs. There’s not enough clinical staff and support available. “Stable, recurring funding would be a game-changer in terms of being able to make care accessible when people need it,” Johnston says, versus waiting until things become a crisis. 

What happens when there is a crisis? Well, that’s a Here4YOUth success story—the formation of a mobile behavioral health crisis response team. They’re now able to go directly to wherever they’re needed so they can help de-escalate a crisis and help young people get counseling, social support, and mentoring. They can stabilize the youth and help them avoid involuntary admission to the hospital, which can be traumatizing. If there’s a crisis at school and a child gets handcuffed and put into a police cruiser, that’s adding trauma upon trauma. The mobile crisis team helps get a situation under control and sets up youth and families for the wraparound support they need. 

Miller says, “My hope for the Here4YOUth initiative is to continue to shift the culture of our system of care to value family and youth voice, increase access to care, and enhance community partnerships to remove barriers. The initiative has offered a highly responsive and collaborative approach to finding solutions. I am fortunate to witness firsthand the positive impact this has made in the lives of youth and families in our community.”

For more information on the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, please visit gulfcoastcf.org or call 941.486.4600.