Baltimore County school leaders are tackling a growing youth mental health crisis by connecting families with local resources at their third annual ‘Mind Over Matters’ event.
The event comes as young Marylanders continue to struggle with their mental health. According to the state’s most recent youth behavior survey, almost 30% of high schoolers feel persistently sad or hopeless — and one in five middle schoolers have made a suicide plan.
On Saturday, students and their families flocked to George Washington Carver Center in Towson, where community nonprofits and state health agencies ran tables advertising their services in the halls.
Courtney Brown, supervisor of mental health services for the school district, said over 300 people registered in advance.
“It's definitely bigger this year than it's been in the past couple of years,” Brown told WYPR. “We're just excited to reach as many people as we can and let people know that there's resources available. We all have mental health struggles at times. We need support. So wanting people to know that there are things out there, both in the schools and outside of schools.”
Latisa McLean came for the second year in a row with her daughter, who goes to Southwest Academy in Woodlawn. She picked up flyers from tables for MedStar Health, TalkSpace and DMC Health Services.
“There’s just a lot of resources,” she said. “You can scan a barcode and get in contact with a therapist, and they'll reach out and you'll have a therapy session for free. That, to me, means a lot, especially when [students] are in high school and they don't know who to talk to, who to reach out to.”
All Baltimore County high schoolers have access to free teletherapy through TalkSpace, a virtual mental health and meditation app.
“Our students are always on their devices,” Superintendent Myriam Rogers said when she announced the rollout in November 2023. “Many times, many of the things that impact them negatively are found on their devices. And sometimes they need someone to speak to right away.”
McLean echoed concerns about social media’s impact on young people’s mental health.
“These kids don't really know how to interact; they don't really know how to communicate,” she said. “Putting everything on the internet, on social media, is not good.”
Saturday’s mental health fair featured workshops for adults and older students on topics like internet safety and addiction in the family. And in the school library, Blue Sky Puppet Theater put on a show about “everyday heroes” for younger kids like seven-year-old Chase Spain.
“The part I liked about the show was that it changed a bully's mind on how they wanted to act,” Spain said.
Brown said the mental health fair is always looking for ways to improve, like increasing outreach beforehand. This year, families could also take buses from any county high school to the event for free.
“We need to feel safe, connected and loved, to really self actualize,” Brown said. “So if we can make sure everyone is aware of mental health needs and social emotional learning needs, and making sure our kiddos are feeling safe and connected, we're going to have them as successful as they can be in the schoolhouse.”
