As School Year Begins, Davids Hosts Conversation on Mental Health with Local Students
MISSION, KS - Yesterday, Representative Sharice Davids hosted a conversation with local high school students, focusing on mental health challenges and solutions for the nearly one in five teenagers affected each year. As the school year begins, Davids is dedicated to supporting Kansas youth by advocating for stronger mental health resources and policies that address their needs, ensuring every student has the support they deserve to thrive inside and outside the classroom.
“Addressing mental health challenges is crucial as our students head back to school,” said Davids. “By engaging directly with young people and listening to their experiences, we can better understand their needs and work towards meaningful solutions. My commitment is to ensure that every student in Kansas has access to the support they need to succeed, both academically and emotionally.”
“Now, more than ever, it is our responsibility as a community and society to uplift and aid teenagers so they feel comfortable accessing the resources they need during times of negative mental health,” said Trisha Rastogi, Zero Reasons Why Teen Council member. “These years are formative, so equipping us with the knowledge, attitudes and support systems to handle our mental health now is the best way to promote improved community-wide mental health in the future. I commend Representative Sharice Davids for continually striving to support teenage mental health efforts, in my county and beyond.”
“We’re starting our seventh school year with Zero Reasons Why, and year-after-year, we see a new generation of student leaders saving lives in their schools through this important work," said Tim DeWeese, Director, Johnson County Mental Health Center. “Each year is an opportunity for us to keep listening to and learning from our teens and their stories and letting that guide our community’s efforts to prevent teen suicides."
“New CDC data shows early but promising signs of improvement for some aspects of teen mental health, but several indicators of poor mental health still raise urgency for the need to better support struggling teens,” said Amanda Walls, Senior Content Strategist, Zero Reasons Why Campaign. “Fostering connectedness through activities like clubs, peer-to-peer support and community outreach have been shown to make a profound difference, especially when teens are empowered to shape and lead these initiatives themselves. As a teen-led suicide prevention campaign, we are grateful to Representative Davids for her work on behalf of such initiatives and for her commitment to allow the opinions and concerns of teens inform her efforts.”
Davids has focused on improving mental health care since taking office. She has helped secure funding for mental health programs in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, and has advocated for stronger mental health supports in schoolsand police departments. Her legislation to renew federal mental health grant programs for health centers, schools, and law enforcement passed the House last year. She also introduced bipartisan legislation to improve opioid misuse prevention among student athletes and additional legislation to improve mental health supports for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.
Davids encourages Kansans who are struggling or in crisis to call or text the new national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline, 988.