CINCINNATI, Ohio — In Ohio, 1-in-3 students have reported challenges with anxiety, according to the Department of Education and Workforce. 

18-year-old Olive Weaver is a senior at Mason High School. Most days for her involve juggling homework, after-school activities, and finding time for a little R&R.

“A youth, young person, high schooler, or maybe even middle or elementary schooler today honestly goes through a lot that adults don’t always recognize,” Weaver said. 

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), 113,000 Ohioans ages 12-17 have depression or some other mental health concern. 

“I've seen the need for more support for youth mental health as a whole, whether that be in myself, my friends, and a lot of the other close people in my life.” 

Olive is a student fellow for Hopeful Empowered Youth -Greater Cincinnati or HEY! It’s a coalition made up of hundreds of stakeholders from health care providers to community organizations with a common goal of improving youth mental health in the region. 

 “It's been great just meeting and interacting with all the adults who really want to listen, hear, and value youth stories. They just haven’t had a way to do that before.” 

The nonprofit recently hosted a school workgroup meeting. Schools are one of the focus areas of their 10-year strategy to combat the youth mental health crisis in Greater Cincinnati. 

The plan is the result of findings from their Greater Cincinnati Youth Mental Well-Being Needs Assessment conducted earlier this year. The assessment found that environmental conditions and treatment are some of the biggest barriers to young people's positive mental health. 

“We heard clearly that there’s more work that needs to be done to help schools really build a culture of mental wellness and well-being. Fortunately, our schools have been tremendously receptive to that,” Vice President of Strategy for Interact for Health and HEY! Core Member Ross Meyer said.  

The strategic plan also looks to increase the number of trusted adults in young people's lives and improve access to behavioral health care. For that to work, Meyers said it will also require policy change.

“We’re going to be advocating together in Columbus, Frankfort and even nationally for policies that can really support our community strategy.” 

The hope is that centering the voices and experiences of young people like Olive in the solution will create a better environment for them to thrive.

“You’re not alone. There’s so many people in your life who are there to support, care about, and love you, as hard as it is to recognize in the moments that you’re struggling.” 

HEY! Greater Cincinnati's programming targets youth 12-24 years old, but they also service younger children in need. 

To learn more about the nonprofit and to get the full details of that plan, click here