Cops, Counselors To Host Youth Mental Health Forum In Naperville

NAPERVILLE, IL — Local police and mental health professionals are teaming up to host a youth mental health forum to help parents identify and navigate signs of depression, suicidal ideation and mental illness in their children. Protecting Our Children: Understanding and Monitoring Youth Mental Health will be held at Naperville City Hall 7 p.m. on Feb. 24.

A panel discussion will be held at the event, featuring remarks by:

• Detective Theresa Stock, who has been with the Naperville Police Department for 20 years and currently serves as an investigator of high-tech crimes
• Ryan S. Lauterwasser, LCPC, CADC, who works at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health. Lauterwasser manages the facility's adolescent inpatient unit and its eating disorder service line, along with serving as co-chair of the inpatient suicide prevention committee.
• Matthew Caston, MA, LCPC, who works as a counselor at the Fox Valley Institute, treating depression, anxiety, suicidal impulses and other mental health issues

“Our officers go to so many calls involving young people in crisis, and so often we hear from parents that they didn’t realize their child was struggling. We couldn’t just sit by and not do something to try to help,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said in a statement.

Arres added “The signs that indicate a youth is struggling with depression, anxiety or suicidal [ideation] can be difficult to pick up on, but through this event, we hope to help parents begin to recognize those signs, know where to look for them and understand how to address them."

Parents can ask questions during the forum or can email questions to info@kidsmatter2us.org in advance. Questions can also visit the Kids Matter website to submit an anonymous question. The deadline to ask a question ahead of the event is Feb. 22.

A livestream of the youth mental health forum will be available via the DuPage Foundation.

"Naperville’s teens are not immune to the stresses youth throughout the country are experiencing, which means we need to embrace our mission of prevention by helping parents recognize the signs that their child is struggling and how to address it," Kids Matter CEO and Executive Director Nina Menis said in a news release.

Menis urged parents to attend or tune in to the forum remotely saying, "We are really encouraging in-person attendance, with recommended COVID-19 mitigations in place, to give attendees the opportunity to fully take advantage of the number of experts and resources that are going to be available at the resource fair. This is going to be a phenomenal opportunity to ask questions and talk one-on-one with providers about their family’s specific situation or concerns."