A Focus on Youth Mental Health
Youth Forward MKE Ambassadors present at the MENTOR Greater Milwaukee Youth Summit. Photo courtesy of MENTOR Greater Milwaukee.
Our youth need more when it comes to mental health. In 2021, they called it out as part of our Design Your Future Fellowship – and they haven’t stopped calling since. Milwaukee Succeeds is listening and, together with our community partners, we’re making moves to change things for good.
A Clear Need for Support
Recent data reinforces what our young people have been saying. According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the WI Department of Public Instruction, over half of Milwaukee Public School (MPS) high school students experienced significant problems with anxiety in the past year. On top of that, 37% reported prolonged disruptive sadness, while 17% seriously considered suicide. These statistics paint a clear picture of the struggles our youth are facing – and the opportunity we have to help.
SKY Schools Curriculum
Making mental health a standard practice in schools is a key step in changing these trends. That’s why Youth Forward MKE has been working with SKY Schools to provide stress reduction tools to students and teachers. This fall, the curriculum was piloted at two local high schools, with plans to expand in the next few years.
“This curriculum empowers youth to take wellness and resilience into their own hands,” said Matt Nink of SKY Schools. “We build confidence and agency through daily practices of targeted breathing and impulse control. This is needed in schools because there are very few physiological tools that we have that reduce stress and improve performance.”
MENTOR Youth Summit
The MENTOR Greater Milwaukee Youth Summit aims to create a space where youth feel welcome and included. This, in turn, influences their ability to show up in school and life. This year’s summit in July marked the second such conference. Milwaukee Succeeds/Youth Forward MKE helped sponsor the event, with Youth Forward MKE Ambassadors utilizing the skills they’ve learned to present a session on mental health.
Trauma Response Policy
Mental health and violence are part of a vicious cycle, with each feeding into the other. With violence on the rise – particularly gun violence against those under 30 – it’s no wonder our youth are feeling the effects.
Feedback from MPS students, teachers, leaders and central office staff showcased the lack of consistent trauma-informed communications following such events. The Milwaukee Succeeds-led K12 Civic Action Team (CAT) took up the issue this year, ultimately submitting a proposal for the creation of new policies and guidelines. If adopted, these guidelines would help MPS respond to internal and external events with the developmentally appropriate communications that their students need.
“I am advocating for the communications policies to be updated because our students and families deserve better!” said Sharlen Moore of Urban Underground, who also serves on the K12 CAT. “I send my children to school to not only be educated, but to have systems in place that will protect and support them. When we see a policy that is not in place that directly impacts the mental health of our students, it is the duty of our educational leaders to not only listen to the changes that need to be made, but to act to change things.”
