When I was 15, a close friend of mine lost her battle to substance abuse and mental health issues — a struggle neither she nor I could fully comprehend at such a young age. Only after her bright smile was gone did many in my community begin to understand the ubiquitous effects of mental distress on young people today.
It shouldn’t take a loss for us to recognize that mental health issues can be fatal. But in a grim way, struggling to cope with this harrowing loss forced me to come to terms with the underlying mental health struggles that had characterized my own adolescence. Not having yet received a formal diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or anorexia, I constantly undermined how urgently I needed to seek help. Since I couldn’t define what I was going through, I didn’t think my pain counted, no matter how severely it continued to disrupt my life.
When I turned to my peers, I found that I was not alone. Many of us shared similar experiences but lacked the space to talk about them and the ability to seek care; we had internalized the common attitude towards the youth mental health crisis that only acknowledges mental health emergencies, not the underlying issues affecting our wellbeing. Put simply, only in moments of crisis do we recognize the need to provide avenues to care. This oversight can be lethal and its effects are widespread.
Across the nation, there is a rapidly escalating mental health crisis among young Americans. Consider recent data from the Department of Health and Human Services: almost half of adolescents in the United States have struggled with their mental health. Similarly, US News referenced a recent study published in Annals of Pediatrics and Child Health that found suicide rates among 13-14 year olds more than doubled over 10 years, while the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that nearly 1 in 10 high schoolers attempted suicide in the prior year.
Despite the urgency, our system hinders those with mental health struggles from accessing the holistic care they need. Figuring out health insurance coverage seems like trying to navigate through an impossible maze. Scheduling an appointment with a provider that accepts your insurance feels as rare as winning the lottery twice in a row. Your provider is far away, and you don’t have a car? Good luck. Coupled with the ongoing backsliding in the health curriculum being taught in schools, we not only remain unaware of our needs but also face overwhelming barriers when navigating mental health care systems, even if we acknowledge that we need help: a lose-lose situation.
What struck me is that this wasn’t just limited to my microcosm of Californian teens. During a conversation with then-middle schooler Ayaan Moledina, a fellow organizer with the Youth Power Project, he told me these barriers existed in rural and urban Texas. We then started speaking to more young people — in Maryland, Montana, Florida, New York, and beyond — and realized a few common themes that stuck out, regardless of the nuanced diversity in experiences that exists within our vibrant generation. We outlined our well-researched recommendations into the language of a U.S. House resolution with the hope that states and localities could adopt these guidelines and begin to counter the damage that the unmitigated mental health crisis had already unleashed.
Turning our drafted resolution into a bipartisan congressional document was, at first, an incredibly intimidating and challenging procedure. Especially in a divided Congress, many in our generation feel hopeless that bipartisan collaboration would actually ensue on any topic. Yet despite this apprehension and mild trepidation regarding how Congress actually works, we scheduled our first few meetings and flew to D.C. to pitch our idea to lawmakers.
From February to May 2023, we met with 28 legislative offices, both Democratic and Republican, some in person and some virtually. We met with members, caucuses, and committees who had pioneered or passed mental health legislation in the past and consulted staff from federal agencies, educator groups, and other stakeholders to solicit feedback and build intergenerational partnerships. Any intimidation we felt in explaining our stories and ideas to complete strangers quickly dissipated once we recognized the humanity behind the digital curtain that our Zoom screens encased, and storytelling became a core tenet of our advocacy.
In April, after learning about his long-standing leadership in mental health policy and recent wins in developing the 988 crisis line, we contacted the office of Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA). His staff was incredibly welcoming of our idea, and H.Res.434 was introduced in late May with two Democrats and two Republicans initially cosponsoring. Since then, we have had more than 125 legislative meetings, and support for the resolution has grown to over a dozen cosponsors with extensive bipartisan and institutional support.
The truth is that policymakers are often not experts in the fields that they legislate over. Without effective community consultation, they may miss vital insights and opportunities to ensure their work is accurate and effective. Our work on House Resolution 434 has shown us that the experiences of impacted groups are often what most accurately inform lawmakers of where their constituents’ needs lie and how to construct effective policies. Since our collaboration, Rep. Moulton has been unwavering in his support for youth agency and introduced the resolution exactly as we submitted it to him.
When bipartisanship seems impossible due to gridlock and polarizing ideologies, stories can unite otherwise divided communities towards a common goal. People my age recognize the struggles that they face, but may not believe that their experiences are important enough for elected leaders to care about. By coming together and discussing both problems and their possible solutions, we can ensure that our very real, lived experiences aren’t lost in the face of political disagreement.
If you or someone you know is going through a crisis, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or +1 (800) 273-TALK (8255).
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