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Connections

Why are teens with mental health challenges not getting care?

Haley Amering and Isaiah Santiago on "Connections"
Julie Williams
/
WXXI News
Haley Amering and Isaiah Santiago on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, September 20, 2023

The numbers of kids with mental illness are rising.

This school year, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is focusing on school campuses – both college and high school. That’s because NAMI cites statistics showing that the majority of teens with depression and other mental illness are not getting care. On top of that, roughly half of lifelong mental illness is present by the age of 14.

So what can be done? If there is so much more emphasis on mental health now than there was a decade ago, why is it still getting worse? Our guests discuss it:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.