FARMINGTON — Members and ideas are needed for a new taskforce being formed to address mental health issues in Franklin County youth, selectmen were told at their June 14 meeting.
A huge increase in mental health crises was being seen prior to COVID-19 and was even worse during the pandemic, Healthy Community Coalition Director LeeAnna Lavoie said.
“Healthy Community Coalition works on a lot of initiatives, mental health is one of the big pieces,” she said. [Labbe] has done a lot of work on suicide prevention efforts, working with the schools, implementing evidence-based strategies to keep our youth safe, trying to get to them before crisis, work with them on being healthy, she noted.
Labbe shared 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which showed during the pandemic:
• 37% of high school students reported they experienced poor mental health.
• 44% reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in the last year.
• 55% reported experiencing emotional abuse by a parent or adult at home (swearing, insulting, or putting down).
Data also shows lesbian, bisexual, gay youth, and female youth reported greater levels of poor mental health, emotional abuse by parent or caregiver, and attempted suicide than their counterparts, Labbe noted.
For Franklin County youth in 2019, use of alcohol and marijuana was more than double the state average, he said. The state average for alcohol use was 4.0%, Franklin County middle school 8.6% and high school 25.2% while marijuana usage was 4.1%, 8.6% and 25.8% respectively, he noted.
Labbe stated combustible cigarette use was down but 47.7% of Franklin County high school youth had used an e-cigarette.
Social isolation has increased for Franklin County youth during the pandemic, Labbe said before sharing more data:
• 24.6% in middle school felt hopeless for two or more weeks in 2017, 33.1% in 2019.
• 26.2% in high school felt hopeless for two or more weeks in 2017, 35.0% in 2019.
School connectedness, feeling cared for, supported and belonging at school affects youth, Labbe said.
“Youth who felt connected to adults and peers at school were significantly less likely than those who did not to report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (35% versus 53%); seriously considered attempting suicide (14% versus 26%); or attempted suicide (6% versus 12%),” Labbe stated. “During the pandemic, fewer than half (47%) of youth reported feeling close to people at school.”
Business owners and community members can help by talking with youth, taking an interest in them, Lavoie said.
Mental health impacts every dimension of health/wellbeing (physical, social-emotional, and spiritual), Labbe noted. It can increase risk of heart attack or stroke, diabetes, chronic disease, can lead to an increase in substance use, absences or poor performance at school, he noted. On the flip side chronic disease increases risk for mental illness, he said.
“More than 50% of individuals will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their lifetime,” Labbe stated.
He then spoke about youth mattering.
“The essence of mattering is the belief that you are seen, heard, and valued,” Labbe said. “It’s more than being included or fitting in – it’s feeling that you are contributing in a meaningful way. Others depend on you. Your absence would have an impact. Ideally, you feel you matter at home, at work, at school, and in your community [from Maine Resilience Building Network].”
Labbe noted Maine data shows:
• Almost half of youth feel they don’t matter to their community.
• Overwhelming number suffer with anxiety, depression and feelings of hopelessness.
Youth going through a mental health challenge may show:
• Removal/loss of interest in activities.
• Lack of energy or motivation.
• Poor personal hygiene/lack of personal care.
• Isolation.
• Extreme mood changes.
• Eating/sleeping habit changes.
• Substance use.
• Declining grades.
Labbe said new grant funding would allow Healthy Community Coalition to:
• Create an advisory committee with key stakeholders to help inform and implement the work.
• Hire a part time youth community health worker.
• Develop and implement an education program and wellbeing guide for adults and community members working with youth on recognizing signs/symptoms of a mental health challenge, how to connect with youth, and how to link them to appropriate resources.
• Partner with county organizations to provide health and wellness opportunities for all youth, particularly at-risk youth and caregivers.
• Pilot a youth wellness program at RSU 9 and RSU 73 that encourages overall wellbeing and makes the connection between overall health and its impact on mental health.
• Contract with the Maine Resilience Building Network to host community town hall meetings about youth mattering and community connectedness and to provide [Adverse Childhood Experiences – potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood] resiliency and risk and protective factor training to teachers, coaches, businesses, parents, etc.
• Develop and implement a youth mentoring program.
“Your data is very convincing,” Selectman Stephan Bunker said. He asked if anyone from the clinician side would be working with the taskforce.
“We are affiliated with the hospital,” Labbe said.
The new manager of Franklin Community Health Network will be on the taskforce, Lavoie said. A resource list for social workers, parents and teachers is planned, she stated. “There are a lot of resources out there, but it’s not all in one place,” she noted.
“What would you like from us as a board or our employees, what are you looking for,” Bunker asked.
“We are looking for community involvement, it takes a village,” Lavoie said. “We all have responsibility to our youth. Having a representative on the taskforce would be great and any other ideas you might have because we are trying to figure out how we can come together on this.”
When asked, Labbe said the one-year grant was for $43,000. A part time youth community health worker, probably college-age will be hired and start in a few weeks, he noted.
Are you actively recruiting, resident Dennis O’Neil asked.
Seven or eight have expressed an interest in the taskforce, it would be meeting in the next few weeks, Labbe said.
Town Manager Christian Waller asked where the closest inpatient or outpatient facility for teens in crisis was.
Probably none are available, Lavoie said. Franklin Memorial Hospital has had youth in hospital beds for weeks and weeks with no place to send them, she stated.
“It is very sad, there is a huge need,” Lavoie added.
“We had them stacked up in the emergency room for weeks at a time during the height of the [pandemic],” Selectman Scott Landry said. “The problem with the state is there are beds but no workers, nobody to take care of these kids.”
“Which pushes the problem back into the community,” Police Chief Kenneth Charles said. Keeping them in emergency rooms, the overlap with adult patients is not appropriate for the acuity of these kids, he noted.
“It is a serious crisis in Franklin County,” Charles added.
Those wishing to join the taskforce or with ideas should call Labbe at 207-779-2925 or email jason.labbe@mainehealth.org.
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