CLEVELAND — U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy made a stop in Cleveland Wednesday to promote youth mental health.
"We have a youth mental health crisis in our country," Murthy declared, "there's no question about that."
New CDC data released in February shows that one in three teenage girls have considered taking their own life.
"What we've got to do as a country is expand access to care we've got to talk more about mental health to eradicate the shame and stigma that still surrounds it so that people wont feel ashamed to ask for help," Murthy said.
Murthy and Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb met with Cleveland Metropolitan School District high school students and community leaders Wednesday afternoon. They mentioned how the kids told them the pandemic had a big impact on their mental health, and explained that the transition back to in-person learning combined with pressures at school and home pile on, as some face financial instability as well.
"For a lot of the young people we talked to today, they started high school on Zoom, and a lot of the emotional maturity you would develop as a high school freshman, they couldn't do that," Murthy explained. "They were isolated in their homes."
Murthy and others say gun violence is also a major issue that causes a ripple effect in communities.
"It's critical that we recognize that gun violence is now the No. 1 cause of death among children," Murthy lamented, "and this is staggering."
As some parents are afraid to send their kids to school, Murthy said the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will help keep kids safer in schools by expanding mental health services. However, as we see more school shootings like the recent tragedy in Nashville and an attempted shooting at West Geauga High School, many are still calling for more to be done to protect our children.
"The truth is our children are dying because of gun violence," Murthy said, "and even those who are surviving are being traumatized."
Bibb says the city will be using American Rescue Plan Act dollars to get more mental health support in CMSD schools.