U.S. Senator George Helmy Launches Advocacy on Youth Mental Health

Washington, D.C. – Senator George Helmy (D-NJ) announced today he is continuing his advocacy as a United States Senator to address the worsening crisis of mental health issues affecting America’s youth. The United States is currently facing a serious mental health epidemic and no group is affected more than adolescents, with 22 percent of all high school students reporting they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the preceding year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. As the first part of this initiative, Senator Helmy is co-sponsoring the Youth Mental Health Data Act, the Supporting All Students Act, and the Pride in Mental Health Act to improve our nation’s policies and approach to addressing this crisis impacting millions of American families.

“As a father of two young children and as someone who has spent a career focused on the issues impacting our youth, I understand the concerns parents face when it pertains to their children’s mental health,  especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Chief of Staff to Governor Phil Murphy, I worked closely with him as he launched his impactful Youth Mental Health Playbook. I will continue this work by making youth mental health a main focus and policy priority during my tenure in the Senate,” said Senator Helmy. “I am co-sponsoring these important pieces of legislation to ensure we are taking care of our nation’s most precious resource: our children. It pains me to see our children struggling with their mental health. This crisis will be one of my top priorities in the Senate and I will fight tooth and nail to make sure our children do not feel hopeless and alone. They are the future of America and they deserve our support and attention.”

The Youth Mental Health Data Act would create a federal youth mental health task force to develop a national strategy for youth mental health improvement data systems. The task force would be comprised of representatives from federal agencies, medical societies and nonprofits, youth with relatable experience, and media and technology companies. The task force would submit a report to state governors sharing opportunities for partnerships at the local and state levels. These streamlined processes would help policymakers achieve maximum effectiveness by targeting resources where they will have the most impact.

The Supporting All Students Act would establish a youth peer-to-peer support line that is integrated with 988, the national mental health crisis and suicide prevention number. Specifically aimed at youth ages 10-25, this line would provide youth with support from a trained peer responder, supervised by licensed mental health professionals, on a variety of issues such as relationship or family problems, academic or athletics-related stress, feelings of depression or anxiety, and bullying. This bill would also establish a new grant program run through the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for schools to hire mental health coordinators, with priority given to schools in high-poverty areas.

The Pride in Mental Health Act would award grants to assess and improve mental health and substance use outcomes of LGBTQ+ youth. These grants would develop and provide behavioral health and crisis intervention resources as well as issue school bullying guidelines, among other provisions.

“There is a youth mental health crisis that is affecting families across America,” said Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), a leading voice on youth mental health in the U.S. Senate. “As a mom, this issue hits close to home—something I know Senator Helmy understands as a parent himself. I am committed to enacting real solutions to address this crisis, and I’m excited to have Senator Helmy join this bipartisan mission. By working across the aisle, we can truly make a world of difference for generations to come.”

“It is clear that we must work together to find new approaches, programs, and models to address America’s youth mental health crisis,” said Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ). “As Chair of the National Governors Association, I released a playbook of these strategies, entitled Strengthening Youth Mental Health. The Pride in Mental Health Act will ensure inclusive mental health services for LGBTQ+ students, while the Youth Mental Health Data Act will bring together experts from various fields to improve youth mental health. These bills incorporate suggestions from my playbook and I am proud that in his first days representing New Jersey in the U.S. Senate, Senator Helmy is continuing to support this work.”

Senator Helmy will speak about the urgency of addressing the youth mental health crisis in his maiden speech on the Senate floor in the coming days. He will continue to aggressively advocate for solutions to this growing problem impacting millions of American families during his time in office.