Parents of Children with mental health issues get support

World Mental Health Day is observed every year on Oct. 10.

This year’s goal is to raise awareness about mental health issues and discuss expanding access to care for teenagers who are struggling.

The Idaho Parent Network for Children’s Mental Health is a volunteer organization created by parents for parents. Each member of the Parent Network has a child with mental health concerns and has struggled to find needed support and resources.

“We’re blessed in Idaho to have a really great regional children’s office. We’re in region seven here, and they’re great and do wonderful things,” says Laura W, who is parent volunteer and has a child suffering from mental health issues.

In October of 2016, the Parent Network was born with representation from all regions of the state. Their goal was to educate families about the changes coming to children’s mental health through the Youth Empowerment Services (YES) project and to work with the State of Idaho to make sure those changes would help our children.

“It’s hard to find the right services, and if you don’t know what’s wrong, you don’t know what services you need. Before your choices were a Therapist or a Psychiatrist that’s it.”

Those barriers are what Licensed Clinical Counselors Kevin Lindley are working to remove. “I think there’s a lot of work we can do. I think a lot of people hear mental health and go that doesn’t apply to me.”

The World Health Organization reports that half of the mental illness begins by age 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated. According to the W-H-O, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds.

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