In this op-ed, Saanvi Arora, founder and executive director of The Youth Power Project, explores the need for youth-centered mental health policy solutions, like Senate Resolution 769, and why we must prioritize mental health care for young people.
Amid the endless and often misinformed chatter surrounding mental health, certain populations remain startlingly invisible, especially young people. Mental health discussions primarily remain dominated by adults, with a tone that often generalizes the unique struggles faced by youth, especially with regard to accessibility, stigma, and equity. And that’s leading to a gap in care for young people, who may need it the most.
“A lot of youth aren’t receiving the support they need due to a lack of access and availability in mental health care,” Mary, a Mental Health Policy Specialist at the Youth Power Project, says. In 2022, Mary faced a life-threatening mental health crisis, prompting an emergency room visit, where she says she waited for 13 hours without receiving healthcare due to bed shortages and inefficient hospital management. “It shouldn’t be so hard to find a provider who understands you and can meet your needs,” Mary says about her experience, one that exposes a devastating reality where youth are left stranded in crisis, with care excruciatingly out of reach.
Scarcity in mental healthcare is, in part, rooted in the harmful separation of mental and physical health. Saigel, a Mental Health Policy Associate at Youth Power Project, grew up in a low-income, immigrant community. There, Saigel faced severe anxiety and depression starting at age 12 with troubling school and familial dynamics. “Chronically absent at school, I was often sick due to physical manifestations of my strong anxiety and depression, combined with feeling unsafe at school due to peers,” Saigel says. Despite clear signs, his mental and physical health weren't considered together, leading to long-term trauma.
Far too often, fractured mental health care systems end up taking the lives of young people with similar struggles; Saigel and Mary took it upon themselves to not only address their mental health issues, but also thrive within a system seemingly engineered against their wellbeing. Long wait times and the absence of culturally competent care are just some examples of how attitudes that dismiss the holistic, far-reaching impacts of mental health further the disparities that leave our most vulnerable continually isolated and unsupported.
Nineteen-year-old Zaynah Robb, a Mental Health Policy Specialist, shares her struggles: “As depression and anxiety began to impact my daily life, I found it incredibly hard to access even somewhat affordable care. Especially as a person of color, the resources available to minorities are minimal, often leaving us with little to no help.” Zaynah’s experience speaks to that of many marginalized youth who are frequently left without adequate support, battling not only their mental health issues, but a stark lack of accessible and affordable resources.
"The barrier of not being able to get help longer than we could afford only plummeted me into a deeper depression,” Zaynah remarked. Her words reveal the troubling truth that our system is not merely inadequate – it is actively inflicting harm. When we seek care only to realize that those opportunities both dismiss our needs and remain wholly inaccessible, disillusionment ensues and this cycle of delaying and ultimately rejecting support worsens.
The fight for interventions accurate to the ongoing experiences of younger generations begins with Senate Resolution 769, a resolution written and informed by young people, proclaiming the mental health crisis plaguing youth across the United States. S.R. 769, which was agreed to in the Senate in July, outlines key recommendations for state and local agencies from peer-to-peer support models to campus-based mental health services to the development of outreach strategies designed to reach marginalized communities.
While formally recognizing this crisis is a crucial first step, many young people around the country feel that politicians’ discussion of declining mental health is simply lip service. With an estimated 49.5 percent of teens in the United States experiencing mental health struggles at some point in their lives, policies must acknowledge the link between mental and physical health. Policymakers must actively combat the isolating, dehumanizing repercussions of mental health stigma that discourage individuals from seeking care.
Mental health education and support, especially for high-risk, medically isolated populations, is essential. Marginalized communities with the highest incidence of mental illness often have the most limited access to support resources, as emphasized by Saigel’s experience. Expanded on-campus mental health care, increased resources prioritizing recovery over penalization, and improved training for educators and staff can strengthen early intervention systems and ensure that youth receive the care they need.
And, these needs may become more acute in January, when Donald Trump takes office for a second time. Calls to youth crisis hotlines have increased sharply as marginalized young people fear limiting policies promised by the Trump administration, like an erosion of transgender rights.
Regardless of the policies Congress pursues, incorporating youth voices from different populations and prioritizing ongoing lived experiences is vital. Whether through representative youth advisory bodies, impacted community surveys, collaborations with youth leaders and organizations, or other strategies, youth voices provide innovative insight into systemic flaws to aid overlooked and marginalized communities.
The passing of this resolution is a foundational milestone in the larger movement to prioritize and protect our youth’s mental health, but it’s just the first step.
