Wisconsin’s Office of Children’s Mental Health released an annual report revealing a youth mental health crisis characterized by rising anxiety and depression alongside significant gaps in treatment access. The findings prompted advocacy from local organizations working directly with families.
Key Crisis Indicators
School belonging has declined 37% over ten years, dropping from 73.7% to 53.6%, with the lowest rates among Black students at 43% and LGBT students at 39%. The report found that 52% of Wisconsin high school students report anxiety, and 18% of youth ages 12-17 experienced a major depressive episode. Additionally, 19% of teens have seriously considered suicide, and 9% report a suicide attempt.
Lifestyle factors compound mental health challenges: 79% of students spend 3 or more hours a day on screens not including schoolwork, and 74% do not get enough sleep on school nights. Despite these alarming statistics, 60% of families report difficulty getting mental health treatment for a child.
Community-Rooted Solutions
Shawna Morris-Patterson, founder of Faith in Humanity, a Milwaukee nonprofit focused on rebuilding youth mental health, emphasizes that mental health is fundamentally a community issue. “You see youth mental health numbers rising, but then you also see community violence and other disparities rising in our community, and it all goes hand in hand. It’s not so much a medical issue—it’s a community issue,” she said.
Morris-Patterson stressed that mental health support is essential for children to succeed academically and beyond. “Children aren’t able to focus at school on their schoolwork if their mental health is not together. If you want a child to thrive in their extracurricular or their strength or their hobby, they’re going to have to have healthy mental health in order to do that.”
Call for Action and Investment
Morris-Patterson is calling on lawmakers to move beyond reports toward concrete action. “Definitely invest in our mental health. We need funding to create these programs and sustain these programs. It needs to be bigger than what it is.” Local organizations like Faith in Humanity continue advocating that addressing youth mental health shapes the future of entire communities.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.tmj4.com/news/milwaukee-county/milwaukee-nonprofit-founder-reacts-to-states-troubling-youth-mental-health-data