Each month Fatima Johnson, Brightlane’s Community Engagement & Education Strategist, will be sharing some educational information and resources as we continue to learn together. This month she is helping us explore Mental Health Awareness Month.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time dedicated to reducing stigma, expanding support, and deepening our collective understanding of mental health and wellness.
For young people experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges are not just common, they are a crisis. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and suicidal ideation affect this population at alarming rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Network for Youth, 69% of unhoused youth report experiencing mental health challenges and they are three times more likely to face a mental health crisis than their housed peers.
Tragically, suicide is the leading cause of death among youth experiencing homelessness, with this population reporting disproportionately high rates of suicide attempts.
These outcomes are not inevitable, they are compounded by circumstances: pre-existing trauma, the constant stress of an unstable environment, and significant barriers to accessing mental health care. Understanding these realities is the first step toward meaningful change.
To learn more about the experiences of unhoused youth and youth mental health, explore the resources below.
Read:
- New Report on the Health and Well-being of Homeless Teens
- New Study Shows LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health Crisis is Worsening in the US
- Unhoused and Unheard: The Hidden Struggles of POC Youth