SAN ANTONIO – Last year the San Antonio Youth Commission launched a teen mental health survey, and it revealed that one in five teenagers in San Antonio are having mental health problems and don’t know where to find help.
Now, young adults across San Antonio are taking charge and sharing potentially life-saving local resources.
At Santikos Theater, a documentary discussing teen mental health sparked difficult-but important conversations for families in attendance.
Like many teenagers, 14-year-old Evalyn became withdrawn from relationships. The pandemic and social media only made it worse.
“I literally couldn’t take my mind anymore,” Evalyn said.
Her mother was concerned and took Evalyn to therapy. over time they learned strategies to cope with the wounds we can’t always see.
Evalyn hopes more teenagers get help.
“Youth mental health is very, very important right now and I just really wish that it was more affordable and more accessible to people my age,” Evalyn said.
The San Antonio Youth Commission is starting that outreach by hosting a youth mental health fair at Rise and Recovery. At the event, young adults discussed healthy relationships, substance abuse, and shared resources with each other.
“You are not alone. There are professionals here who want to help you, who want to educate you,” Ty Troung said.
Sixteen-year-old Thy Troung wants to break the cycle of shame surrounding mental health.
“I would love for there to be a greater outreach so that we as a whole, this generation as a whole, can come up to talk about these things that aren’t normally talked about in school and bring about change in this generation,” Troung said.
Take the San Antonio Youth Mental Health survey here.
Find more youth-focused mental health resources here.