1st Youth Suicide-Prevention Center Set To Open On Long Island

RIVERHEAD, NY — A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held Thursday to mark the opening of Long Island's first-ever youth suicide-prevention center.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison will join Rise Life Services CEO Charles Evdos for the opening of the facility Thursday; the ribbon cutting is slated to be held at 11:30 a.m. at Rise Life Services, located at 901 East Main Street.

"With the rise of social media use among youths," including videos urging suicide, "and cyberbullying increasing across the nation, the center will serve to prevent deaths among young people," organizers said.

A grant of $1 million dollars from the New York State Department of Mental Health was given to Rise Life Services to start the program.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 20 percent of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9 percent have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Rise Life Services said.

In March, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced a statewide series of listening sessions and a spring summit aimed at exploring the issues impacting the mental health of youth throughout New York State. Together, the initiatives will build on Hochul's $1 billion plan to overhaul New York State's mental health continuum of care and provide an opportunity for experts to advise state leaders on future policy recommendations to improve youth wellness.

"As New York State's first female governor and the only mother to hold this office, I'm deeply disturbed by recent reports on instances of teen depression — especially following the isolation and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic," Hochul said. "It's time we put the mental wellbeing of our youth at the forefront and listen to what they're going through to gain a deeper understanding of this issue and meaningfully address the problems young New Yorkers face."

Coordinated by the state Office of Mental Health and the Office of Children and Family Services, the listening sessions are expected to be scheduled throughout the state this spring. Each session will be moderated by representatives from these agencies and will involve a cross-section of school-aged youth from each host community.

Hochul will also convene a Summit on Youth Mental Health and Wellness in May, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month. The summit will bring together youth and parents with a broad array of subject experts from the mental health, education, technology, and law enforcement fields to discuss the challenges and opportunities impacting the well-being of our youth, including the role social media plays in their lives, she said.

In February, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued its Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which found "alarming" mental health trends among school-aged youth between 2011 and 2021 — especially among teen girls. Nearly a third of teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, an increase from 19 percent the prior decade; about three in five felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, which was twice the rate of teen boys and represents a nearly 60 percent increase over the rate recorded in 2011, the study said.

The report also found that youth from marginalized populations are more likely to suffer mental health issues: More than half of LGBTQ+ students expressed having poor mental health, with one in five reporting having attempted suicide in the past year. Suicide attempts were also elevated among Black youth when compared to white youth, according to the report.

Office of Children and Family Services Acting Commissioner Suzanne Miles-Gustave said: "Our young people are the most precious, yet vulnerable, members of our communities. We must do everything we can to protect their health and well-being, and this requires bold action to confront the mental health crisis they are facing."

The listening sessions and summit are part of Hochul's broader strategy to tackle the mental health crisis throughout New York State. The fiscal year 2024 executive budget includes more than $1 billion to overhaul New York State's mental health care system and halve the unmet mental health needs of youth over the next five years.

Hochul's budget provides $30 million to expand mental health services for school-aged children throughout the state, including $20 million for school-based mental health services and $10 million to implement wraparound services training, and $8.3 million for new and existing school based health centers. Additionally, the budget includes $10 million to strengthen suicide prevention programs for high-risk youth, she said.

The budget also provides $18 million over two years to reimburse providers for family preventive mental health services for parents and their children; and $24 million over two years to reimburse providers for adverse childhood experience screenings.

The Governor's budget also builds on investments in the 2023 budget, including $12 million allocated for the HealthySteps and home-based crisis intervention programs to promote early childhood development and treatment for children and teens; and $3.1 million to bolster treatment for individuals with eating disorders.

Hochul also proposed a measure that will prohibit insurance companies from denying access to medically necessary, high-need, acute, and crisis mental health services for both adults and children. In addition, the governor has advanced legislation to close gaps in coverage for behavioral health services to improve the well-being and success of individuals after they leave hospitals or emergency departments, she said.

ABayport family is suing TikTok, saying the social media app convinced their 16-year-old son to kill himself. Dean and Michelle Nasca filed a lawsuit on March 21 against ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, stating that the "For You" page, of their son, Chase, was infiltrated with videos from "highly depressive, violent, self-harm, and suicide themed accounts."