The nation’s top pediatric groups and the U.S. Surgeon General sounded the alarm late last year about a national youth mental health crisis.
Now, the City of San Antonio is gathering its own data about the state of teen mental health on the local level.
According to the CDC, more than 1 in 3 high-school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, and factors that contributed to the poor state of youth mental health were exacerbated during the pandemic.
Struggles with mental health can impact many areas of a teen’s life, including their grades, health and decision making.
The "SASpeakUp Teen Mental Health Survey" will be open to San Antonio residents ages 12 to 19 until April 10.
How was the survey formulated and what questions does it aim to answer?
What's being done to get word out about it and increase the number of respondents?
How will the results be used to guide policy and direct funding for teen mental health?
Guests:
- Melody Woosley, director of the City of San Antonio's Department of Human Services
- Ellen Spitsen, program manager for Project Worth at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District
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*This interview was recorded on Thursday, March 10.