Even before the pandemic, many kids in Westport were struggling with their depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidal ideation. In fact according to Mental Health America (MHA) in their 2023 State of Mental Health:

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• 59.8% of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment. Asian youth with major depression were least likely to receive specialty mental health care, with 78% reporting they did not receive mental health services in the past year. 

• Nationally, only 28% of youth with severe depression receive some consistent treatment (7-25+ visits in a year).  Most (57.3%) youth with severe depression do not receive any care.

• Nationally, 1 in 10 youth who are covered under private insurance do not have coverage for mental or emotional difficulties – totaling over 1.2 million youth.

• Only .718 percent of students are identified with emotional disturbance for an individualized education program (IEP). IEPs, with sufficient resources for schools and teachers, are critical for ensuring that youth with disabilities can receive the individualized services, supports, and accommodations to succeed in a school setting.

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According to researcher, Dr. Suniya Luthar, "American teens from upper-middle class families are more likely to have higher rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse than any other socioeconomic group of young people".