The kids are not alright. A CDC analysis released earlier this year found that in 2021— the second year of the pandemic — more than 37 percent of high school students reported experiencing poor mental health, and 44 percent reported they felt persistently sad or hopeless throughout the year.
Before the pandemic, mental health was already getting worse — according to previous studies from the CDC.
Bonnie Petrie guest hosted TPR's The Source to talk to experts about this issue and the telehealth program in Texas that hopes to help solve the mental health crisis.
- Dr. Laurel Williams, D.O., professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, medical director of the Centralized Operation Support Hub, which supports the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium
- Reena Pardiwala, PA-C, clinical director of the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine at UT Health San Antonio
- Josette Saxton, director of Mental Health Policy at Texans Care for Children
Texas Public Radio is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms that are covering challenges and solutions to accessing mental health care in the U.S. The partners on this project include The Carter Center, The Center for Public Integrity, and newsrooms in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
