Nearly half of U.S. teens say social media has a mostly negative effect on people their age — and almost the same proportion say they’re cutting back on social media use, according to a Pew Research Center report.

ER boarding is a symptom of the U.S. health care system’s struggles, including shrinking points of entry for patients seeking care outside of ERs and hospitals prioritizing beds for procedures insurance companies often pay more for.

The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services says one of its goals is to empower the next generation of young women.

Chicago residents struggling with mental health issues often encounter barriers to accessing traditional care like therapists or medication.

A study by the American Psychology Association reports that 77% of U.S. adults say the nation’s future is a significant source of stress in their lives. This category of mental health is known as socio-political stress and it seems more prevalent to people who are politically active compared to those not engaged in politics. 

Chicago will no longer have members of the police and fire departments on its mental health emergency response teams. The Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program is moving to a new staffing model — with all public health workers.

The nonprofit Remember Him Remember Her has partnered with Nave Wellness Center to provide free monthly grief support groups to people navigating parental loss.

An estimated 3 million children and teens are exposed to shootings every year in America. More than 1,300 of them have occurred in schools in the past decade.

In a call, Sonya Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, reports that her daughter is suffering a “mental breakdown” and tells the dispatcher, “I don’t want you guys to hurt her.” She adds that she fears the police and asks that no officer who is “prejudiced” be sent.

Some of the city’s most vulnerable populations are still facing barriers of access when it comes to receiving equitable health care. The Black community faces notable obstacles when it comes to addressing mental illness.

Social media use is prevalent among young people, with up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 saying that they use a social media platform, and more than a third saying that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center.

There is an ongoing shortage of several prescription drugs used to treat ADHD, including Adderall. The CDC urged people to avoid using medication acquired from anyone other than a licensed clinician and pharmacy.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced plans to reopen the city-run Roseland Mental Health Center by the end of this year, and open two other mental health service sites at the Legler Regional Library on the West Side and at the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Lower West Side vaccine clinic in Pilsen.

Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting state universities from admitting students based on familial and donor ties, an expansion of the ban on sales of e-cigarettes to minors and a bill prohibiting stores from stocking alcoholic beverages near non-alcoholic lookalikes.

In the middle of Mental Health Awareness Month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton hosted a panel in Springfield at which he pledged to expand the state’s behavioral health services.

Mental health struggles can play a big role in a gun violence survivor’s recovery, but navigating that journey isn’t the same for everyone. Finding the right care can be difficult, and often involves unpacking complex trauma.