Mental Health Resources

MENTAL HEALTH MONTH: GET CONNECTED May is Mental Health Month & was created more than 50 years ago to raise awareness about mental health conditions & the importance of mental wellness for all. This year's theme is focused on an essential component of maintaining and protecting mental health and wellness: social connectedness. The tagline for this year's observance is "Get Connected." For more information and resources go to http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/may

SUBSTANCE USE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES (MAY 2008) This report released by the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) uses data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to answer questions about the use of alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and LSD among young adults with disabilities. The report compares substance use among this population with substance use in the general population, and compares different disability categories and demographic groups in substance use and in the receipt of substance abuse prevention education and services. The report can be viewed at http://ies.ed.gov/whatsnew/

MENTAL HEALTH CASE STUDY REPORT: TRANSITIONING YOUTH WITH MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS TO MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT AND INDEPENDENT LIVING A study was carried out on successful strategies to help youth with mental health needs transition to postsecondary education, employment, and independent lives. The study focuses primarily on the role of skills development, work, and career exploration. It presents the findings from case studies of five promising program sites and identifies program design features and system-level policies that appear to help youth and young adults with mental health needs better transition into adulthood and life-long success. http://www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/background.php#mental_health_case_study_report

DEPRESSION HITS NEARLY 10 PERCENT OF TEENS: More than 2 million American teens - 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys, or 8.5 percent of all teens -- report that they had serious bouts of depression during the past year, a federal report indicates. Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely impaired their ability to function on a disability scale, which measures impact on family, friends, chores at home, work and school. This article is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1340857020080513?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

RESEARCHING THE HIGH RATE OF LATINA TEEN SUICIDES A new research model will attempt to discover why one in five U.S.-born teenage Latinas attempt suicide. http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/6681.html

INHALANTS ARE A DRUG OF CHOICE FOR YOUNGEST USERS Many 12 year-olds in the "tween" generation, yearning to become teenagers, are already using illicit drugs. Their drug of choice is inhalants. This is the conclusion of a new report by HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The data show that 3.4 percent of 12 year-old children used inhalants in the past 12 months, outpacing use of marijuana (1.1 percent) and misuse of prescription pain relievers (2.7 percent). But regardless of age of use, inhalants can cause "Sudden Sniffing Death" or lead to addiction and other health risks. For more information about this go to http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/inhalants/press.htm

REFERENCE POINTS is administered by PACER Center http://www.PACER.org as a technical assistance activity of the TATRA Project.