“Last week, the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success joined the Baltimore City Health Department, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services and Behavioral Health System Baltimore to present to the Baltimore City Council on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of city residents and the resources available to help cope with and recover from pandemic trauma.
The impact on children and youth has been especially stark: Nationally, children have shown a 24% increase in need for psychiatric hospitalization; for youth that increase is 31%. Closer to home, the adults caring for our children also have growing mental health needs: 1 in 3 Marylanders says the pandemic has left them feeling depressed and anxious. And in Baltimore, calls to the Baltimore Crisis hotline doubled early on in the pandemic, from 2,800 monthly calls in March 2020 to 5,700 by July.
Baltimore is home to so many mental health resources, and the Behavioral Health System Baltimore Here2Help Hotline—410-433-5175—is an excellent place to start. We also know that stigma around mental health is real, especially among young people, and it’s keeping them from accessing life-changing supports. This summer, the Baltimore Children’s Cabinet, in partnership with the Healing Youth Alliance and Wide Angle Youth Media, will kick off a youth-led media campaign to decrease stigma around mental health and raise awareness of services. Follow us @bmorechildren for details as they unfold.”