Young people are facing a mental health crisis. Now their voices are being heard here.
By Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer
School hadn’t started yet, but a balmy August evening found a group of mostly teens gathered around a room that looks a lot like a classroom.
Some were as young as 16, and together, they’re working on a plan to combat Greater Cincinnati’s youth mental health crisis.
The numbers are bleak. One youth in Ohio dies every 34 hours by suicide, according to the latest report from the Ohio Department of Health, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Ohioans from 10 to 34 years old.
Black youth face worse mental health outcomes than their white peers, while LGBTQ+ and youth involved in child welfare or juvenile justice also struggle to access mental health support.
Still, the youth are part of a newfound hope: an organization called Hopeful Empowered Youth Greater Cincinnati, also known as HEY!, which started in August 2023.
Youth mental health is the focus of a new community-wide coalition
By David Holthaus, Soapbox Cincinnati
A broad coalition of people from organizations that connect with Greater Cincinnati teens and young adults has created a long-term strategy to improve the mental health of youth, which many say has reached a crisis.
The new organization is called Hopeful Empowered Youth, and goes by the acronym HEY!, a name and abbreviation suggested in part by youth members of the organization, who will continue to play a key role in the effort.
The group has released a 10-year plan designed to improve the environment that youth find themselves in today by changing practices, policies, and attitudes in schools, the mental health system, and the community at large.
Hopeful Empowered Youth releases 10-year strategy to promote youth mental health in Greater Cincinnati
By Thom Mariner, Movers & Makers
Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!) – a new organization launched Tuesday, Sept. 17 – aims to improve youth mental health in Greater Cincinnati. As part of its launch, the nonprofit is sharing its Youth Mental Wellness Needs Assessment and its 10-year strategy.
“The mental health challenges we are facing today are too complex for any one organization to solve. HEY! is leaning into youth and those with lived experiences to work with system leaders from across sectors to institute practices, programs and policies supporting youth mental well-being,” said Executive Director Clare Zlatic Blankemeyer.
‘Use your voice’ | Youth-powered organization working to combat Ohio’s mental health crisis
By Jay Shakur, WCPO
For Brooke Winstead, her mental health challenges centered around what she describes as “isolation.”
“Being transferred from UC Blue Ash to DAAP (University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning), or to UC main campus in general, it was a big transition,” Winstead said. “The classes were smaller, small population … (now) it’s like everything is so spread out. It’s not a lot of people who look like me in my classes.”
It was a hard adjustment for Winstead, majoring in urban studies. But with Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY), she found her footing through an outlet to build bonds and innovate solutions.
“This is a very different time where most people, they spend a lot of time by themselves,” Winstead said. “They may not have that community; community is not what it used to be.”
Winstead is now helping the organization devise and implement a 10-year plan that lays out a guide for working with schools and caregivers to improve youth mental health outcomes in a 12-county area.
