Children's Mental Health Day 2018

May 10, 2018 is considered world Children’s Mental Health Day. We, at Family Service Association, provide mental health services for youth every day so to say that we bring awareness to it just one day a year would be a disserve to the work we do. However, this a great day to bring the community together to talk about mental health, bring a light to some of the issues that young people face today, and rededicate ourselves to providing quality, accessible, client-centered and holistic behavioral health services to youth and their families.

11% of youth report suffering from at least one major depressive episode and yet of those 64% received NO treatment for this. (www.mentalhealthamerica.net; 4/23/18). Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24 (www.nimh.org; 4/23/18) with 90% having an identified underlying mental health issue. We have all listened with horrified interest as the media reports incidences of school shootings and students are standing up asking for change. There has been increased awareness around mental health which has proven to bring more people to services. Services struggle to keep up with the demand. Funding certainly hasn’t kept up with the demand.

On May, 10 2018 FSA will be holding a kite flying event to bring awareness and education to the community about mental health, but also just to have some fun (which naturally fights depression and anxiety). We sincerely hope that you will join us for this event, but we also hope that you will continue to be the voices of advocacy that are much needed around mental health. Open up the conversation. Challenge those who say things that are incorrect or based on misperceptions. Talk to legislators about the need for appropriate funding. If you have a personal or family story, please consider sharing it. Untreated mental health issues are costly to the community, can be life-threatening, and certainly are distressing for the person who is feeling alone in the battle.

Thank you for being our supporters and advocates. See you on May 10 at Randall Oaks sled hill for some kite flying!