Need grows for mental health services for young New Yorkers

by Wendy Wright

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — New numbers out of one county in New York support the much widely recognized need for mental health services for young people across the country and the state.

“We must listen to parents,” Sara Taylor of BIPOC PEEEEEEK said. “We must listen to youth.”

Taylor is one of the parents and advocates speaking out as The Children’s Agenda released the results of its poll of 600 parents in Rochester and Monroe County.

The findings led the agency to call for a significant overhaul of public policy to help children coping with emotional and mental health issues.

“We need both private and public stakeholders to come together and listen to parents [and those of us with lived experience,” Taylor said.

Among the findings, two out of five parents surveyed say at least one of their children has struggled with emotional or mental health since going back to school.

But only one in four say their child struggling with the problem is receiving counseling for it.

“Those are numbers that a year ago were at the level convincing the U.S. surgeon general and the American Academy of Pediatrics and others to declare a national emergency of youth mental health crisis,” The Children’s Agenda CEO Larry Marx said. “We’re seeing those numbers now just today showing up in our community as well.”