Youth Sports Are More Important Than Ever for Kids' Mental Health

ACCESS Open Minds connects youth and young adults to mental health support, including therapists, caseworkers and peer navigators to help them get the care they need. One of ACCESS’s main goals is to bridge the gap between the complexities of the mental health care system and the community. By creating these youth wellness hubs and connecting people with the appropriate services, ACCESS has decreased the number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and increased the number of people getting mental health care.

The Gonzales Youth Council, which consists of middle and high school students, took matters into their own hands when it comes to helping their peers address mental health. Through surveys and meetings with school and local government administrators, the Council started facilitating mental health check-ins on Instagram, sharing self-care and coping tips and even seeking training for youth on how to respond when their peers are experiencing a mental health crisis.

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

The Friends Advocacy for Mental Health Initiative (FAM) spreads awareness of the importance of mental health. It works to bring services like counseling and support groups to rural communities and schools. The Initiative’s Adolescents Save Haven Club hosts monthly sessions in secondary schools across the country, helping guide youth on their mental health journey, and has since helped over 300 students.

Working on Womanhood (WOW) works to build confidence, self-awareness, community and healthy coping mechanisms among Black and Latina girls in sixth to twelfth grade. WOW offers easily accessible group therapy in schools and is led by Black and Latinx social workers who can provide culturally relevant care to youth in need. WOW serves 350 students in one school district and surveys show that participants are less depressed and anxious and exhibit more self-confidence.

Music therapy is helping teens identify, verbalize and cope with their emotions, and is emerging as a solution to bridge the gap in the national shortage of adolescent mental health professionals. Michigan State University alone has credentialed more than 9,000 music therapists since the degree program emerged in 1944. Studies show that when used in conjunction with medical treatement and traditional talk therapy, music therapy can improve health outcomes and reduce levels of depression and anxiety.

A summer youth-employment program at a local school district led to a student-led forum where Black high school students could open up about their experiences with mental health, racism and stigma. Students who participated in the forum could also join a peer-mentoring program where students worked with middle schoolers to mentor them on how to understand and cope with their feelings.

A rural school is taking a “try everything” approach to helping students cope with mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing various forms of therapy, to school-based clinic services and mental health education, school staff are leaning into more of a public health approach to mental health care. The services are also seeing support from parents and guardians as nearly all who were asked for permission to treat their child agreed, compared to just 70% before the pandemic.

Sources of Strength is a student-led mental health prevention program operating in about 35 Maine middle and high schools, coordinated by NAMI Maine and the state CDC. The program trains peer leaders to act as "connectors" who listen to struggling classmates and guide them to trusted adults before problems escalate. Students report that peer support makes it easier to discuss struggles with someone experiencing similar pressures.

The Bridge Peer Counseling Center provides 24/7, free, anonymous counseling to students, by students. The student counselors are trained in crisis response and volunteer over 30 hours each week to keep the center running, ensuring mental health support is always accessible on campus.