New & Noteworthy
Catalyst Endowment Fund 2022 Topic: ABC’s of Mental Health
The kids are in crisis. Trauma. Depression. Self-harm. Addiction.
Children and youth are facing a very real mental health crisis, with many national medical organizations declaring this a national state of emergency. Physical isolation, ongoing uncertainly, fear and grief are leading causes for this crisis, exacerbated by the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racially-based systemic inequities. What are the causes, what are the barriers, and what are the solutions?
Visit the Catalyst Endowment Fund homepage for more information about the fund.
2022 Timeline
This special session was added for members to hear about the impact of past grants from the Catalyst Endowment Fund. The full meeting recording is below.
On Thursday, April 28th Catalyst Endowment Fund members and their guests attended the first educational session focused on the mental health crisis children and youth currently face, exacerbated by the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racially-based systemic inequities.
Featured panelists included:
- Liany Elba Arroyo, MPH, CPH: Director of Hartford’s Department of Health and Human Services, City of Hartford
- Dr. Melissa Santos: Division Head of Pediatric Psychology, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
- Kim Stevenson: founding member of Friends for Equity in Avon Schools
- Caitlin Garcia-Stevenson: Student Leader, Avon High School Voices for Equity
The meeting was livestreamed for those who could be in attendance at the Pond House Cafe. A full recording of the program is below.
On Wednesday, June 22, Catalyst Endowment Fund members and their guests attended the second educational session focused on youth mental health, resources available to families and children, as well as exploring the greatest challenges for families and the providers who seek to help.
Featured panelists included:
- Jeana Bracey, Ph.D.: Associate Vice President of School and Community Initiatives at the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut
- Dr. Laine Taylor: Child Psychiatrist and Medical Director at The Village for Families & Children
- Marisa Giarnella-Porco, LCSW: President and CEO of the Jordan Porco Foundation
A full recording of the program is below.
As the final Catalyst Endowment Fund meeting of 2022, members met via Zoom to vote on which programs to fund. Grants were awarded to Our Piece of the Pie (OPP) and My Sisters’ Place (MSP). For more information on this meeting, click here.
RELATED ARTICLES AND REPORTS
View a current list of mental health articles from Connecticut Children's, here.
- Keep an eye on your student's mental health this back-to-school season (Connecticut Pubilc, August 22, 2022)
- Youth mental health is in crisis. Are schools doing enough? (Hartford Courant, August 17, 2022)
- Killingly rejected a fully funded mental health center at its high school. Why? (CT Mirror, August 15, 2022)
- Sports can be a game changer in the youth mental health crisis (Hartford Courant, July 22, 2022)
- Dr. Sandra Carbonari: Putting children’s mental health first (Hartford Courant, June 15, 2022)
- Feeling Bad? Maybe It’s Time to Log Off. (The New York Times, June 14, 2022)
- Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness (PBS Docu Series, Premieres June 27, 2022)
- A CT child was so anxious she wouldn’t talk to anyone outside her home. Here’s how experts are addressing the youth mental health crisis. (Hartford Courant, June 7, 2022)
- A Mental Health Clinic in School? No, Thanks, Says the School Board (The New York Times, June 6, 2022)
- Expand school-based health centers to CT’s underserved districts (CT Mirror, May 19, 2022)
- In Southington student survey, 18% depressed or sad ‘most of the time’ 17% had tried suicide (Hartford Courant, May 14, 2022)
- Teens in Distress Are Swamping Pediatricians (The New York Times, May 10, 2022)
- On the Phone, Alone: We look at the mental health crisis facing adolescents — and the role of digital technology. (The New York Times, May 10, 2022)
- Hundreds of Suicidal Teens Sleep in Emergency Rooms. Every Night. (The New York Times, May 8, 2022)
- Three extensive bills targeting children’s mental health win final passage (CT Mirrror, May 3, 2022)
- Three extensive bills targeting children’s mental health win final passage (CT Mirror, May 3, 2022)
- How politics derailed mental health care at Killingly High School (CT Mirror, April 27, 2022)
- Connecticut Children’s Hospital plans a new medical psychiatric care unit. Here’s why.(Hartford Courant, April 26, 2022)
- Bills to support children’s mental health come with lofty price tags (CT Mirror, April 22, 2022)
- Senate passes sweeping children’s mental health legislation (CT Mirror, April 22, 2022)
- Dr. Tichianaa Armah: In a time of mental health crisis, look to schools: Here’s why, and how (Hartford Courant, April 24, 2022)
- Worried Sick: A Journey Into the Anxious Teenage Mind (The New York Times, April 23, 2022)
- ‘It’s Life or Death’: The Mental Health Crisis Among U.S. Teens (The New York Times, April 23, 2022)
- First part of child mental health initiative clears Connecticut Senate (Hartford Courant, April 22, 2022)
- Teenagers Report Growing Anxiety. Maybe That’s Rational. (The New York Times, April 2, 2022)
- Many Teens Report Emotional and Physical Abuse by Parents During Lockdown (The New York Times, March 31, 2022)
- What the kids saw: Connecticut program aims to help children who witness violence (Hartford Courant, March 22, 2022)
- Health Equity Event Series hosted by MassChallenge
- Dr. Paul Dworkin: The magnitude of mental health challenges (Hartford Courant op-ed, March 3, 2022)
- The time for Connecticut to act on mental health care is now (Hartford Courant, February 27, 2022)
- Hundreds tell Connecticut lawmakers of need to repair ‘gaps in our shredded safety net’ for children’s mental health (Hartford Courant, February 25, 2022)
- School Counselors Eager For Student Mental Health Help (CT News Junkie, February 24, 2022)
- Surging behavioral health care needs for children put strain on Connecticut school social workers (Hartford Courant, February 21, 2022)
- Connecticut lawmakers unveil comprehensive legislative effort to invest ‘in children’s mental health’ (Hartford Courant, February 18, 2022)
- The rise in mental health issues among children is declared a health emergency (Connecticut Public Radio, November 3, 2021)
- Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Youth Mental Health (American Psychological Association)
- Graphic on Mechanisms Underlying Disparities in Mental Health (American Psychological Association)