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2022 Virtual Parent Summit

Maddie Davies - Erie County Health Department

Julie Didion

FHS at SHS

Dr. Lowrie

Bayshore Counseling

What the future holds for our community will be determined by the health and prospects of our youth today, as they will inherit the community from us. Working together – and side-by-side – with our young people, we can minimize barriers to success and improve how we support our youth. Therefore, we need local agencies and organizations that advocate for the health of our youth. When we look at a school system, academic performance is directly linked to student health – so schools that invest in student health can reduce risk behaviors and improve academic performance.

What does investing in academic health look like?
  1. Health education
  2. Health services that connect students with the needed resources
  3. And safe and supportive school environments where students feel connected and free from bullying and violence
Youth Health Assessment
  • ECHD conducts a Youth Health Assessment every other year with all of the local school districts to gain a better understanding of the behaviors and experiences that youth are having
  • The Youth Health Assessment elevates the voices of Erie County’s youth to help shape different policies, systems, and environmental changes that will benefit them
  • This is a tool for empowering our youth. Answering these questions is one of the first steps in making them feel comfortable to not only talk about, but to advocate for their own health.
  • Once the data is collected, we compile a report with the findings. From this, we gain an understanding of the array of issues our youth are currently facing, identify the key concerns, and determine what we can do to combat those issues.
  • This data also allows us to compare how the health of our youth and our community are changing over time. When we look at youth mental health and see that rates of depression and anxiety are increasing, we know that we need to focus on that area of health and utilize all of the tools available to tackle that issue.
Health Assessment Data
  • Erie County Health Department just completed a new youth health assessment in fall of 2021, and we are currently awaiting the results of the data.
  • We anticipate changes in youth health will occur, both physically and mentally, due to the ongoing pandemic. We know how hard the past two years have been on everyone in our community, but especially our youth. We know the sacrifices that have been made, and how resilient and adaptable our young people have had to be during this time.
  • Based on the data we have from our 2019 youth health assessment, the main areas of concern in our youth are weight status, mental health, and substance use.
  • Weight Status:
    1. In 2019, 2,457 Erie County youth were classified as overweight or obese.
    2. Nearly one-fifth (17%) (approximately 1,266) of Erie County youth were classified as obese by body mass index (BMI) calculations, 16% (approximately 1,191) of youth were classified as overweight, 65% (approximately 4,839) were normal weight; and 2% (149) were underweight.
  • Mental Health:
    1. Nearly one-third (30%) (approximately 2,234) of Erie County youth reported they felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities, increasing to 40% of females.
    2. Twelve percent (12%) (approximately 893) of youth reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months, increasing to 16% of females.
    3. One-in-eleven (9%) (approximately 670) youth made a plan about how they would attempt suicide in the past year.
    4. In the past year, 5% (approximately 372) of youth had attempted suicide. Three percent (3%) of youth had made more than one attempt.
    5. Almost one-quarter (22%) (approximately 1,638) of youth had experienced three or more ACEs in their lifetime.
    6. Thirty-nine percent (39%) or 2,904 Erie County youth had been bullied in the past year.
  • Substance Use:
    1. Drugs:
      • In 2019, 8% (approximately 596) of Erie County youth had used marijuana at least once in the past 30 days.
      • Four percent (4%) (approximately 298) of youth used prescription drugs not prescribed for them in the past month
    2. Alcohol:
      • One-third (33%) (approximately 2,457) of youth had at least one drink of alcohol in their life, increasing to 59% of those ages 17 and older.
      • Of those who drank, 44% were defined as binge drinkers.
    3. Tobacco:
      • Two percent (2%) (approximately 149) of Erie County youth were current smokers.
      • Eighteen percent (18%) (approximately 1,340) of youth used e-cigarettes in the past year.
    4. Youth who currently used drugs, alcohol, or tobacco were more likely to participate in risky behaviors than non-users (ie. sexual intercourse, marijuana use, drinking alcohol, misuse prescription medication), were less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, and were more likely to feel sad or hopeless, consider attempting or attempt suicide, and experience 3+ ACES (adverse childhood experiences)
Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)
  • The data gained from community health assessments informs the decisions we make as a public health agency and guides program and policy implementation
  • Following every community health assessment, we create what’s called a community health improvement plan (CHIP), which acts as a framework to strengthen, focus, and streamline local efforts to improve health and well-being
  • The CHIP outlines different health priorities, strategies, and actions steps that we plan to take to improve specific indicators such as mental health
  • For instance, to improve outcomes within mental health, adverse childhood experiences, and substance use, the Health Department identified strategies such as social-emotional learning, school-based health care, youth resiliency programs, and access to alcohol, as strategies. As an action step, we work with local schools to implement youth programming such a Botvin Life Skills to combat these issues. Botvin is a training program aimed to reduce the risks of substance use and risky behaviors through empowering youth and teaching them healthy coping mechanisms.
Services
  • ECHD/ECCHC focuses on the health of our community throughout the life spectrum – from birth to death. Because we know that creating healthy habits in our youth will lead to healthy adults, but we also know that protecting the health and wellbeing of our adults is critical for themselves, as well as their children
  • We are the area’s only FQHC and offer a range of physical and mental health services.
    1. Primary care, pediatric care, immunizations, women’s health, dental services, mental health counseling and addiction treatment services.
    2. Our goal is to meet our community where they’re at and break down any barriers Erie County faces in receiving health care. As a response, we’ve expanded our health center and now have 8 convenient locations to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our community regardless of where they’re located, including 2 different school-based health centers in Vermilion and EHOVE.
Wrap Up
  • Our initial response as public health, or educators, or parents should never be that bullying is inevitable. Out initial response should be to create a positive environment where bullying is not tolerated, and kids have the tools and resources necessary to be able to cope with stressful situations.
  • Our initial response to a student struggling with their mental health should not be to tell them to “toughen up”.
Our goal should always be to eliminate as many barriers as we can and provide youth with the skills they need to overcome the barriers we can’t eliminate. Our goal should always be for our students to succeed.

Bayshore Counseling Services

Bayshore Counseling Services offers a wide variety of services and programs for all of Erie and Ottawa County. We believe that mental health services should be easy and accessible, which is why we offer Telehealth services for everyone.

Behavioral Health Treatment Services
Counseling for both mental health and chemical dependency issues. Services offered:
  • Diagnostic Assessment
  • Screening and Counseling for Problem Gamblers
  • Peer Support Services
  • Individual Counseling
  • Couples Counseling
  • Family Counseling
  • Groups for Alcohol and Drug Addiction
  • Anger Management
  • Sexual and Physical Abuse and Domestic Violence Victim Services
It is easy for parents to identify their child’s physical needs: nutritious food, warm clothes when it’s cold, bedtime at a reasonable hour. However, a child’s mental and emotional needs may not be as obvious. Good mental health allows children to think clearly, develop socially and learn new skills.  Additionally, good friends and  encouraging words from adults are all important for helping children develop self confidence, high self-esteem, and a healthy emotional outlook on life.
A child’s physical and mental health are both important.
Basics for a child’s good physical health:
  • Nutritious food
  • Adequate shelter and sleep
  • Exercise
  • Immunizations
  • Healthy living environment
Basics for a child’s good mental health:
  • Unconditional love from family
  • Self-confidence and high self-esteem
  • The opportunity to play with other children
  • Encouraging teachers and supportive caretakers
  • Safe and secure surroundings
  • Appropriate guidance and discipline
Bayshore Counseling Services is accredited through CARF and is licensed by the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Mental Health

 Evidence has suggested that exercise may be an often-neglected intervention in mental health care. Aerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression. These improvements in mood are proposed to be caused by exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain and by an influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, thus, on the physiologic reactivity to stress.

Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.
Health benefits from regular exercise include the following:
1.    Improved sleep
2.    Better endurance
3.    Stress relief
4.    Improvement in mood
5.    Increased energy and stamina
6.    Reduced tiredness that can increase mental alertness
7.    Weight reduction
8.    Reduced cholesterol and improved cardiovascular fitness

Exercise for Mental Health
Ashish Sharma, M.D., Vishal Madaan, M.D., and Frederick D. Petty, M.D., Ph.D.

References
Richardson CR, Faulkner G, and McDevitt J. et al. Integrating physical activity into mental health services for persons with serious mental illness.

There is still such a stigma around talking about mental illnesses, like anxiety and depression, many people keep their suffering a secret. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Illness shows 20% of young people ages 13 to 18 suffer from severe mental illness. According to Mental Health America, depression in teens is increasing at an "alarming" rate. Luckily, some professional athletes and celebs have opened up about their battles with mental illness to show that it can affect anyone. 

Check out these celebs that have dealt and are dealing with mental illness.

Selena Gomez - Selena has been very open about her need to step away from the limelight to care for her mental health.

Justin Bieber - Justin Bieber spoke up about depression
 
Leonardo DiCaprio - American actor and film producer
 
Derrick Rose - American professional basketball player

Lane Johnson - Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl Champion
 
Aly Raisman - six-time Olympic Medalist

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -  American actor, businessman, and former professional wrestler.
 
Michael Fred Phelps II - former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals

Dan Reynolds - Imagine Dragons, Lead Singer
 
Kevin Love - American professional basketball player
 
Dak Prescott - Dallas Cowboys

Carson Wentz - NFL Quarterback
 
Local Mental Health, Drug, & Alcohol Abuse Hotline: 1-800-826-1306

Thank You!

As you know, our annual parent summit is an important and rewarding endeavor that helps to ensure the future success of our students. I want to express my sincere appreciation for your contribution during the entire process.

This was only possible through your commitment of time and effort, which is especially notable given your normal responsibilities.

Mrs. Nikia Dilts
Mrs. Whitney Poherence
Ms. Henrietta Johnson
Mrs. Jennifer Chapman
Ms. Sue Daugherty
Mrs. Laura Barrett-Bache
Ms. Kerstyn Pou
Mrs. Rebecca Romano
Mrs. Brandy Bennett
Dr. Megan Peugeot
Rev. Herman Robinson
Mrs. Tracy Reed
Mr. Dennis Muratori
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