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A recent Birth to Five Illinois report shows that schools across Region 17 — which covers McLean, DeWitt, Livingston and Logan counties — need more mental and behavioral health resources. Birth to Five Illinois launched two years ago to bring solutions to the problems plaguing the state’s education system. Its needs assessment for Region 17 came out last year. Between February and May, Birth to Five Illinois interviewed Region 17 Action Council and Family Council members about where schools could improve behavioral health support for youth.

Key takeaways from the report highlighted a deficit of resources in rural resources, a need for more diverse therapists, and additional providers that accept Medicaid.

Leveraging resources in cities like Bloomington-Normal will likely be part of the solution for getting needed mental and behavioral health support to rural communities, Allen added.

Meanwhile, the report details 16 recommendations for how to get children across the four counties the support they need. Some suggestions were minor, such as building a database of resources, and others were more large-scale, like increasing the number of service providers across the region and getting more infant and early childhood mental health (I/ECMH) consultants.

Read more at WGLT.org.

After months of classes on counseling, Veron Blue got her chance to put what she has learned all year, to work.

Across from her, was fellow trainee Deborah Johnson, who, as part of a lesson, assumed the role of a hypothetical client, who had come to Blue for help dealing with depression.

Remembering to focus first on the encounter’s positives, Blue, pastor at San Antonio’s Family Life International Ministries, began, addressing Johnson directly: “I am so proud of you for coming to this meeting.”

Blue and Johnson, a member of, are among 10 people from eight different Christian churches in San Antonio who have spent the year participating in a Harvard Medical School program called EMPOWER, a unique program to bring basic counseling skills to places of worship.

The training is designed to help clergy, and its members become part of the mental health workforce, offering brief counseling sessions to community members. This program is not meant to handle severe mental illness beyond depression, and trainees are taught to refer cases beyond their scope to a clinical provider.

The free 12-month program is being sponsored by The Congregational Collective, a nonprofit organization founded by H.E. Butt Foundation in 2023 to help San Antonio faith communities support mental wellness.

EMPOWER teaches people how to treat depression using positive emotions. This is the same training mental health providers receive to treat some depression.

This is the first time this training program has been used in the United States, but it has been implemented in countries such as India and various places in sub-Saharan Africa. Harvard Medical School’s Mental Health For All Lab has recently translated the program from Hindi to English and Spanish, and San Antonio is the first stop.

Religious leaders hear all kinds of problems from their congregation, whether it be rent, divorce, spiritual conflict, and more. Their natural reaction is to help their congregation immediately, but this training program focuses on not only helping the physical but also the mental.

Read more at TexasTribune.org.

In recognition of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) is pleased to announce the launch of the OVMA Resiliency Program (ORP) in partnership with Falk College and Hendricks Chapel. The ORP is an innovative wellness program tailored to meet the unique needs of veterans pursuing higher education and aims to enhance the overall well-being of veteran and military-connected students throughout their academic journey.

According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report earlier this year, almost 70% of student veterans who are patients in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals received services for mental health care, compared to just 40% of all other veterans who received mental health care from the VA. Aside from seeking services to address concerns regarding post-traumatic stress disorder, the report shows a rising trend over a six-year period of student veterans seeking out care for depression and anxiety-related disorders more than their non-student veteran peers.

The program will officially launch on Aug. 26, the first day of classes for the fall 2024 semester, with more details to come later this summer on how to access the program. Aside from standing as a beacon for the University’s resolve to create an inclusive and supportive environment for student veterans, the ORP will support military-connected students with concierge-style support to help them thrive academically during their transition to post-service life.

Read more at News.Syr.edu.

Since 2023, a Burges High School student has set up a listening table in the school’s courtyard every Friday during lunch to invite his fellow students to talk with him about anything. He simply listens without judgment and doesn’t offer advice.

Ortega was inspired by the Listening Table movement founded by Orly Israel, who became an internet sensation through his Instagram account @Orlyslisteningtable, which has 154,000 followers. Ortega said before beginning his table, he reached out to Israel.

“I saw his reels on Instagram, and I was like I want do my own,” Ortega said. “I texted him and he said he wanted to spread the listening tables around the country, and I was like down to help you with that mission.”

The staff at Burges helped Ortega follow his mission by lending him the table and chairs and providing materials for posters. Student Activity Manager Ruth Bohlin said that Ortega’s passion for the project was a key reason the school approved it.

While wrapping up his sophomore year, Ortega is looking toward the future and plans to keep his table when he goes to college. He is also currently training his younger sister to take over the Burges table when she starts high school.

Read more at Borderzine.com.

Mental health conditions can affect anyone regardless of race and ethnicity, yet according Health data collected by the KFF organization in 2023 found that among adults with any mental illness, Black (39%), Hispanic (36%), and Asian (25%) adults were less likely than White (52%) adults to receive mental health services. 

The African American, Asian American, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities are among the groups least likely to seek mental health services, whether due to socioeconomic status, inaccessible healthcare, or cultural stigmas.  

Acknowledging minority mental health is crucial in addressing the unique challenges faced by diverse communities.

Navigating barriers to mental health resources has historically been challenging for certain minority groups. However, Freeman says hope is on the horizon as resources become more widely available and future generations are beginning to break down cultural and generational stigmas surrounding mental health. 

Read more at News.LLU.edu.

Growing up in Santa Clarita, Ellie Magsaysay was one of the few Asian American kids in her neighborhood, and certainly one of the few Filipino Americans. Some people seemed confused by her background, she said, and assumed she wasn’t Asian.

It’s affected her sense of identity and, at times, her self-esteem. Was being Filipina or having darker skin, she wondered, why boys didn’t seem interested?

Over a couple of weeks during the summer, a dozen people met regularly In Historic Filipinotown in a light-filled multipurpose room at Search To Involve Pilipino Americans, which developed the program.

A handful of college-age facilitators trained by the community organization taught eight teenage students about signs of depression and anxiety — and ways to cope through journaling and breathing exercises.

But just as Asian Americans are incredibly diverse, so are the mental health needs of different ethnicities. The facilitators made sure to discuss issues familiar to the Filipino diaspora such as colorism and cultural expectations. One exercise had the teens thinking up of comebacks to harmful statements like “I can only be a nurse to be successful.”

The organization, which offers youth leadership training and afterschool programs among its services, created Walang Hiya to help teens who may be struggling with the stress of being bicultural. Three years into running the program and refining it with tweaks, the group hopes to share the curriculum with more Filipino American communities outside of Historic Filipinotown.

Read more LAist.com.