Seattle Mayor, Bruce Harrell
By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell recently joined a host of community partners to announce the launch of Reach Out Seattle, a new initiative focused on the prevention and early intervention of youth mental and behavioral health challenges.
Reacting to the ongoing youth mental health crisis, this initiative aims to promote awareness about the prevalence of youth mental health challenges by equipping community members with the training and tools they need to support youth experiencing psychological distress and by training community members to be first responders.
“Youth experiencing mental or behavioral health challenges deserve compassion, care, and support from the trusted adults in their life to put them on a path towards healing and wellness,” said Harrell. “By taking a One Seattle approach and bringing together leaders experienced in working with young people from across our city to prioritize prevention, help youth build resilience and healthy coping skills, and align and amplify supportive resources, Reach Out Seattle will ensure our response to the youth mental health crisis is comprehensive and centers youth voices and the needs of the community.”
According to proponents, Reach Out Seattle will raise the level of youth mental health and overall wellness by developing community learning programs that focus on early identification, prevention, and non-clinical intervention strategies to equip parents, caregivers, and trusted adults.
“Youth in King County and across the nation are facing a mental health crisis, but our healthcare system has not kept up,” says King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay. “It is vital that everyone has access to the help they need, and I’m proud to support this initiative in expanding mental health resources for youth.”
Developed with feedback from Seattle youth and youth mental health providers, the learning programs, which are based on the Seattle Fire Department’s successful Medic I and II Programs and aim to empower residents to be first responders, will teach community members how to identify a young person displaying signs of mental or behavioral health challenges, when and how to intervene, as well as how to coordinate access to available resources if clinical intervention is necessary.
The learning programs will incorporate youth perspectives to ensure the materials provided to the community are responsive to their needs and include identification and prevention techniques from mental and behavioral health specialists.
“The Reach Out Seattle initiative has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of supporting youth mental health,” says Dr. Janine Jones, Professor of School Psychology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Education, University of Washington. “By empowering the community with the skills to identify early warning signs of a mental health crisis in young people, along with providing practical intervention strategies, we can make a profound impact on the wellbeing of our youth.”
Harrell announced the new initiative at Ingraham High School, where an on-campus shooting killed a student in the fall of 2022. Responding to urgent student requests to increase resources for mental health following the shooting, Harrell and Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda advanced a proposal to invest $9.4 million in the 2023 budget in school mental health resources for Seattle students.
“The world our young people are growing up in today is very different than when I attended school in Seattle,” said Harrell. “As the threat and incidence of gun violence continues to increase nationwide, we know that too often the lasting scars on our young people aren’t only physical. Our youth deserve safe, supportive environments to learn, grow, and reach adulthood, and it will take an all-of-society effort like we are advancing with the Reach Out Seattle initiative to support the mental health and wellbeing of our youth.”
“Mental Illness reports that 52% of Washingtonians aged 12-17 with depression did not receive any care in the last year,” said Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. “I’ve championed funds for innovative mental health services at local middle and high schools, which are providing student-led programming, staff training by mental health providers on trauma-informed instructional practices, clinicians leading 1:1 and drop-in group counseling, and workshops on healing and resiliency. But we need to do more. We know that, with help, healing is possible.”
“Continued investment in student mental health is not just an act of compassion but a strategic imperative,” says Dwane Chappelle, Director of the Department of Education and Early Learning. “Reach Out Seattle is another tool that strengthens the safety net of services that will better support student mental health and pave the way for academic and life success. When students’ minds are nurtured and cared for, their success soars, unlocking their full potential and building a brighter future for us all.”
