Youth mental health services
Neil Harrington is the research director at NC Child. He unveiled the child report cards for four Cape region counties, New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Columbus, at the New Hanover County Resiliency Task Force’s August event.
Harrington reported that 54% of North Carolina children who need mental health care have difficulty or cannot access these services. Additionally, 40% of the state’s high schoolers report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
“The number of kids diagnosed by medical professionals with anxiety or depression has more than doubled since about 2016, and at the same time, right up between 2010 and about 2023, we’ve seen the number of youth suicides in North Carolina more than double,” he said…