Listening Tour: What is Many Minds? 4/12/17. Early Findings and Emerging Strategies to Improve Youth Mental Health

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1 Listening Tour: Early Findings and Emerging Strategies to Improve Youth Mental Health King County Re-engagement Provider Network April 14, 2017 Meeting 1 What is Many Minds? We are a non-profit collaborative of mental health leaders, providers, non-profits, community members, educators and government officials in King County. We serve as a strategic resource that works with stakeholders to: Catalyze and facilitate cross-sector collaboration "Co-create" solutions with the communities they affect Encourage strategic public and philanthropic investment to enable long-term sustainability 1

2 Executive Summary: Youth Mental Health In 2016, the Many Minds Collaborative embarked on an effort to catalyze a youth mental health movement in King County. Our goal: to inform, engage, and energize the community to join together to make real and lasting improvement in the mental wellbeing of our kids. Our primary focus was on those most in need: youth, ages five to 26, who are living below the poverty line. This has led us to concentrate our efforts on South King County, though we believe our learnings will be applicable more broadly. In 2016, we launched an in depth listening tour (which is ongoing): Met one-on-one with more than 80 organizations that touch youth Sponsored ten youth mental health forums to hear directly from youth about their experiences As we listened to youth and heard from those who interact with them, some common themes emerged: Youth are hurting. They want to be heard and they want help. Youth and families are in survival mode. Accessing mental health services on top of trying to meet basic needs is incredibly difficult especially for those who have to overcome systemic equity issues. Youth are dealing with the impact of ACEs and trauma which underlie many of the health and life challenges they face. Youth frequently do not feel supported by family and often seek "family" in friends and community organizations. Youth want and need more support at school. Youth are distrustful of the mental health system. Negative experiences have made many youth wary of any door that's labeled "mental health. Youth want alternative care settings that "get them" and often find greater support through programs that build community and relationships with peers. Youth don't want to be labeled or stereotyped. Youth struggle with self stigma and discrimination from family as well as medical and mental health providers. 2

3 Consistent feedback from providers and community organizations also began to shine a light on the gaps, barriers, and obstacles: There are too few skilled providers and even fewer who are culturally competent, diverse. Low salaries driven by low reimbursement result in turnover. There are not enough mental health services or supports in schools; too few resources to pay for them. There is a lack of coordination and communication between schools, providers, and youth service organizations. Our service model isn't working for many youth. Traditional, Western-based therapy is ineffective in many cultures and with youth. The funding model does not align with needs. Medicaid fee-forservice reimbursement dictates services that are available but not what's most needed. Adequate care isn't available when youth need it due to shortages of both inpatient and outpatient services. Gaps, barriers, and obstacles (cont.) There are not enough community-based services and settings to meet the need, both geographically and in terms of diversity of services. Parents and adults in youths' lives need more knowledge, tools, resources and support. Youth exist within an "ecosystem" of parents, families, teachers and community members which must be addressed. We are intervening too late. In the absence of early intervention, children and youth struggle for years, setting them up to fail. Stigma and a lack of public awareness about mental health keeps kids from getting care with stigma particularly strong among minority and refugee populations. Too many programs are top-down from "experts" and don't engage youth or their communities. There is little support for community based resiliency projects. Evidence-based practices are not always applicable to different cultures and communities. 3

4 We also heard many ideas from the community about what would make it better. We've organized those into some emerging strategies: Develop a more qualified, culturally competent and diverse mental health workforce. Increase mental health capacity in our schools Integrate and coordinate care better Create alternative models of care and welcoming doors for youth Improve the quality and availability of mental health services Engage and support the ecosystem of parents, families and caregivers Prioritize prevention and early intervention Raise public awareness and reduce stigma Suggestions for specific tactics can be found in the full report (see link at end). Tactics and strategies are summarized (not in rank order.) Finally, through our many conversations, the community gave us guidance on how to approach this work: Empower youth to design and lead improvements by investing in participatory, youth-led strategy work and service delivery. Increase community capacity, networks and research through collaboration and backbone support. Develop flexible funding to fill gaps and meet community-specific needs not covered by Medicaid and insurance 4

5 Offer / Invitation We welcome your feedback and expertise (e.g., suggestions, referrals, others we should talk to, gaps/needs) Know of any youth who might be interested in applying to the Council? We invite your involvement at any time or capacity level (e.g., community design meetings, strategy teams, information sharing) We can serve as a strategic resource to you (e.g., case for investment, data/research available for your use) Contact Us Christina Hulet: christina@huletconsulting.com Nissana Nov: nissana08@gmail.com Full Reports Available as a Resource to You Listening Tour 2016 Report provides additional detail on the themes, gaps and potential strategies that are emerging directly from the community, collected through youth forums and one-on-one interviews with more than 60 organizations. Why Invest in Youth Mental Health Report summarizes research/data about the relationship between youth mental health and school success, racial disparities, social justice, homelessness, criminal justice involvement, poverty, and more to make the case for investment in youth mental health. Visit: 5

6 Tell it like it is. Help make decisions. Gain lifelong skills. Become a Youth Mental Health Champion Are you interested in mental health? Does it affect your life, friends, or family? Want to help make it better? Many Minds Collaborative is looking for young people to join our community wide movement to improve youth mental health in South King County. It s your chance to become a game changer and make friends along the way. Be a Voice for Your Community! Please consider applying if you: are between 14 and 23 years of age live in South King County have a deep interest in mental health, through your own experience or that of a friend or family member want to help make life better for other youth are interested in learning about community organizing, community building, and leadership Application Deadline is April 28, 2017 As a member of our Youth Council, you ll be a voice for youth in your community. You ll learn about mental health and how it affects youth share your opinion on mental health issues that youth face help brainstorm ideas to make it better work with other youth, mental health care providers, community members and philanthropists on finding solutions engage in community building and organizing activities help decide how and where resources should be spent participate in a variety of leadership activities and trainings How much time will it take? This is a one-year commitment, May April. Plan on approximately 10 to 12 hours per month on average (although it will vary). Activities include group meetings twice a month, learning retreats, site visits and listening tours. There will also be some homework. (And plenty of fun, too.) Will I be paid? While making a difference in the lives of others is its own reward, we want you to know that we value your time and contributions. Members of our Youth Council will receive a small monthly participation grant and reimbursement for transportation expenses. Apply online at manymindscollaborative.org/youth Questions? Please us at Youth@ManyMindsCollaborative.org