Message from Councilmember Ellen Zimmerman | May 25, 2022
May marks National Mental Health Awareness Month.
As a Licensed Social Worker, it is important and personal to me to work to help raise awareness of mental health in our community and our country. The recent senseless events that we have all witnessed in Buffalo and Uvalde reinforce the necessity to protect the well-being of our children and their futures.
A recent study from Morning Consult shows 84% of parents with school-aged children believe there is a youth mental health crisis in the United States. Almost half of parents polled believe the stresses of COVID-19, schoolwork, uncertainty and friendships or relationships have had a negative impact on their children’s mental health over the past year.
While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, it is imperative we support those struggling year-round. As a community, we can do our part by directing our collective energies toward education and mobilizing support to those who need it, especially among our youth. As advocates, we can help by keeping a watchful eye on the impact of this mental health crisis in Scotch Plains, ensuring that those in need are offered support.
Our youth have been particularly impacted as losses from COVID and disruptions in routines and relationships have prompted social isolation, anxiety, and learning loss. In 2019, one in three high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an overall increase of 40 percent from 2009. Emergency department visits for attempted suicide have risen 51 percent among adolescent girls.
This youth mental health crisis has been accentuated by social media, which, in my opinion, has been conducting a national experiment on our children and using data to keep them clicking—with enormous consequences. There is mounting evidence that social media can be devastating to many kids’ and teens’ mental health, well-being, and development.
As the Surgeon-General stated, “when not deployed responsibly and safely, these tools can pit us against each other, reinforce negative behaviors like bullying and exclusion, and undermine the safe and supportive environments young people need and deserve.”
We are fortunate in Scotch Plains to have many local organizations working to support those struggling with mental health, particularly our youth. Two years ago, a group of students recognized the need to form a group and help raise awareness surrounding mental health. They formed The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Mental Health Club.
The club started remotely, during the pandemic, with more than 100 students in their first year. During the beginning of this month, they sponsored a Mental Health Awareness Festival at the high school with sponsors and vendors. I want to congratulate these students for recognizing the importance and having the passion and commitment to help raise awareness surrounding mental health.
I’d also like to highlight the Resolve Community Counseling Center, a private, nonprofit mental health agency in Scotch Plains. Founded in 1974, Resolve is dedicated to providing quality and affordable counseling, advocacy and educational programs for children, adolescents and adults, individuals and families. For more information about Resolve, please visit resolvenj.com.
The stigma surrounding mental health can no longer exist. Mental Health Care is Health Care!
Those who need immediate assistance are urged to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK, which will transition to the simple three-digit number, 988, on July 16.
