CLEVELAND — Poor mental health can go hand in hand with other problems like drug use and other risky behavior, according to the CDC, and it's an issue only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy spoke with students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District Wednesday about their experiences and struggles. The two later held a news conference to announce steps being taken to address youth mental health. 

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Bibb and U.S. Surgeon General hosted a news conference about youth mental health

  • Mayor Bibb and Dr. Murthy spent time with kids from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District 

  • They said kids in the country and in Cleveland are struggling

  • The city of Cleveland has a plan to help 

Murthy said that youth mental health is a crisis in our country and he wants to change that.

“What we’ve got to do as a country is expand access to care. We’ve got to talk more about mental health to irradiate the shame and stigma that still surrounds it so that people don’t feel ashamed to ask for help,” he said. 

He expressed what the students from CMSD said to him.

“They spoke about the impact that the pandemic had on their mental health. They talked about how we can’t just flip a switch and go back to 'normal,'” he said.

Bibb told the story of one student who struggled with the transition from online school to in-person post-pandemic.

“She said she was doing great during the pandemic, really focused on Zoom. When she got back to school in person, the workload didn’t change. She felt as if the world was moving, but she wasn’t,” he said.

Murthy explained that the effects of the pandemic aren’t the only issue for the youth. 

“They spoke to us about some of these stresses in their life, they talked about bullying as well. That continues to be a problem for many kids and we spoke about social media too,” he said. 

Mayor Bibb said that the city has a plan to help the youth who are struggling with mental health issues.

“We are going to spend ARPA dollars to have an integrated health initiative in our ‘Say Yes’ schools at CMSD so that our young people can get that mental health support inside the school.We’re working very closely with our country executive to make sure that our young people in Cleveland have the right of behavioral health support as well in their community,” he said. 

He explained other initiatives that they will do to help as well, such as opening more after-school activities for kids.