The Kids Are Not Alright: Inside N.C.'s teen mental health crisis
The Charlotte Ledger and N.C. Health News look into North Carolina's strained mental health system in an eye-opening series
On Sept. 4-8, 2023, The Charlotte Ledger and North Carolina Health News teamed up to explore how health care is failing children with mental health needs — and what can be done about it — in a series called “The Kids Are Not Alright.”
Our reporting, led by veteran Charlotte journalist Michelle Crouch, found that the surge of adolescent patients with anxiety and depression is placing serious strains on mental health resources in Charlotte and around the state. It’s difficult to find psychiatrists and other behavioral health specialists, for instance. The lack of treatment programs for teens in North Carolina is forcing some youngsters needing intensive help to spend days in hospital emergency rooms, which can be scary and violent places that are typically not set up to treat mental health patients.
The series consisted of:
◼️ Part 1: Series introduction — Suicide rates in N.C. are on the rise
◼️ Part 2: Where have all the psychiatrists gone? A shortage of psychiatrists is forcing teens in crisis into crowded ERs and inpatient centers as anxiety and depression surge; ‘the constant answer was wait, wait and wait’
◼️ Part 3: When the E.R. is the only option: More children are landing in the hospital with mental health emergencies. Three families share their real-life experiences of going to the E.R. for help; ‘It was just crushing’
◼️ Part 4: Colleges focus on mental health as students return: After strings of suicides and a prominent shooting, universities zero in on mental health on campus; stepped-up counseling, wellness days, therapy dogs
◼️ Part 5: More mental health help is on the way for Charlotte youth: National and local agencies are launching alternatives to the emergency room for kids with mental health conditions; ‘We can’t act fast enough.’
➡️ Bonus: Charlotte-area mental health resources for youth in crisis: Contact information for Crisis hotlines, emergency rooms/crisis centers, day treatment/partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient programs and parent or caregiver support/advice:
We were able to share this “The Kids Are Not Alright” series with readers because of the support of The Ledger’s paying members, and because of our partnership with North Carolina Health News, a nonprofit news organization that covers health care statewide. If you’d like to support our work on this series, you can donate tax-free to a fund by North Carolina Health News that supports independent, original journalism on the business of health care in the Charlotte region.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Business manager: Brie Chrisman, BC Creative