NC high schooler: What adults should know about youth mental health | Opinion

In the past few weeks, students have filled classrooms all across North Carolina, saying that bittersweet goodbye to summer vacation. Despite excitement for the year ahead, there is one giant elephant in the room: youth mental health.

While this isn’t a new issue, its prevalence has only grown in past years. More young people are experiencing anxiety, depression, and stress – all exacerbated by the lasting impacts of a global pandemic, unrealistic standards set by social media, and political division.

Recent data from the NC Department of Public Instruction highlight the mental health struggles students are contending with. Right now, 39 percent of high school students and 32 percent of middle school students report feeling sad or hopeless. NCDHHS also reports that for North Carolina youth ages 10 to 18, suicide is the second leading cause of death.

These numbers are hard for adults to hear, let alone understand what it’s like to experience firsthand. Yet, they are the ones who take charge in developing policies to address youth mental health. That’s why young voices are vital to progress; we see the data come alive every single day. In solving this issue, representation is the missing piece of the puzzle.

I serve on NC Child’s Youth Advocacy Council (YAC) alongside 15 other high school students from across the state. This year, we’ve been working together with NC Child staff to propose policy solutions, projects, and action steps we can all take to address youth mental health. Having been involved in advocacy and political organizations in the past, I found that claims to value youth perspectives often fail to translate into action. Through the YAC, I have been able to find an organization that truly uplifts our voices as young people, as students, and most of all, as members of the community.

The YAC recognizes that a nonpartisan, youth-led approach is imperative to protecting children’s mental health and stability in North Carolina. We seek to uphold the ideal of “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” at its most basic level. Together, we envisioned a two-pronged approach to addressing youth mental health: enrichment and mentorship.

Our enrichment approach focuses on creating spaces for students to talk about mental health during homeroom or advisory periods in the school day. With this approach, 9th and 10th graders would participate in group discussions to build mindfulness and time management strategies to manage stress and anxiety, all while forming a close-knit community with their peers.

Our mentorship approach connects upperclassmen with underclassmen to foster a sense of belonging in schools and mediate stigma related to conversation about mental health. Through mentorship, students are able to find a compassionate and encouraging shoulder to lean on.

As kids in North Carolina find their footing in new classrooms, among new peers, their existing stressors are compounded by a new set of challenges. To adults seeking to support youth during this time, my advice is this: the best way to support us is not by speaking for us.

The best way to support us is by engaging with us.

Youth mental health is not a talking point for adults. Addressing the issue necessitates dialogue with youth at the center and our parents, principals, and policymakers in support.

If you’re a parent whose children have gone back to school, guide conversations with them about their feelings during this season; creating an open line of communication allows them to speak openly in the future. Offer them access to the support and resources they need to succeed both academically and socially.

If you’re a policymaker, remember to connect with youth in your districts and ask them about their experiences. Taking their needs into consideration is the key to enacting change in the ways we address youth mental health.

And if you’re a young person in North Carolina, never forget that your voice and your health matters. Talk to your local lawmakers or educators. Start conversations with your peers. Every action counts, no matter how small.

Ayse Ermis is a senior at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte.