More Richmond-area kids are accessing mental health services: report
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More Richmond-area kids received mental health services last year than in 2022, according to data from ChildSavers, a local nonprofit specializing in school-based therapy.
Why it matters: That means more children are getting support in a youth mental health crisis that shows no signs of abating.
The big picture: Virginia ranked 48th in the U.S. last year for youth mental health, mostly due to low rates of access to care despite a growing need, per Mental Health America.
- ChildSavers has tried bridging the gap by focusing services where kids already are: schools, which have increasingly become first responders amid rising rates of suicidal ideation, overdoses and gun violence.
Zoom in: The nonprofit serves Richmond, Hopewell and Colonial Heights City Public Schools, and from 2022 to 2023, it's seen a 20% increase in children who received services.
- That translates to a jump from 793 kids to 955.
- The 2023 number is nearly four times higher than it was in 2012, when ChildSavers saw around 250 total students, CEO Robert Bolling told Axios.
Yes, but: The demand continues to outpace the ability to meet it, which means ChildSavers' waitlist is around 200 kids. It has reached as high as about 400.
- "That weighs on us as an organization, but it also weighs on our community," Bolling said. "Because these kids are not getting any relief."
What's happening: The pandemic worsened an already brewing youth mental health crisis, and among the major issues Bolling keeps seeing impact kids include bullying, community violence, social media and grief.
- The age of kids saying they want to end their lives also continues to get younger, Bolling said.
- "When you have eight-year-olds saying, 'I don't want to be here anymore, that's a frightening thing," Bolling told Axios.
Between the lines: About 90% of ChildSavers' patients are on Medicaid. Most are Black or Latino.
- Bolling says changing demographics in recent years have meant more Latino kids seek ChildSavers' services, leading the nonprofit to hire eight Spanish-speaking clinicians. It has 35 clinicians total.
- "I just wish we had the resources to do more," he said.
If you or someone you know needs mental health support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or use the online 988 chat function.
- ChildSavers also has an immediate response team available at 804-305-2420