“About 75% of mental illness has an onset before age 25. About 50% of mental illness has an onset before age 14. So, we need to respond to this with the urgency it deserves.”
Thomas Insel, M.D. and Neuropsychaiatrist
(As featured in episode one of “Hiding in Plain Sight”)
New and Noteworthy
December 12: Michigan Radio interviews Rachel Murray to talk about insurance parity with private insurance in regards to mental health care. Skip ahead to 31:17 to hear her! Listen now.
July 27: Amyre Makupson and CBS Detroit report on a mother who fears a tragedy may happen when her child returns home without a support plan from the State. Watch the video Here.
June 15: As demand increases for children’s mental health capacity, Michigan has been cutting residential beds. Bridge Michigan examines this troubling situation. Read the story here.
June 1: We think you should know. Washtenaw County CMH spent a lot of funds on PR and advertorials to shape the message they wanted for the public. Money was spent on that while they were refusing beds to people who need them. The Ann Arbor Independent has the story here.
News and Media Archive
If you would like to check out the recent (and growing!) media coverage around youth mental health in Michigan, please visit our News and Media page.
Advocates for
Mental Health of MI Youth
We are a parent-led, grassroots group working on behalf of youth in need of complex mental health support and services in Michigan. Our goal is to improve the mental health system for children and adolescents who need the highest level of support.
We come together to share our stories and foster positive change within a broken system.
Why We Are Here
- Our children are spending weeks in emergency rooms, tied to beds because there are not enough community inpatient beds available.
- Parents are often advised to illegally abandon their children in those hospitals in order to force the State to find an available inpatient bed.
- There are no long term or specialized residential care beds available for children with Severe Emotional Disturbance in the state so children are sent home where they are unsafe.
- Families are unable to access the supports and services that could allow their children to stay at home safely.
- Insurance companies deny our claims as medically unnecessary despite federal parity laws that require insurers to treat mental health claims in uniformity with physical health claims.
- Medicaid SED waivers are difficult to access and qualify for, and Community Mental Health services are rarely available for those who do qualify.
- Schools don’t have legitimate training or policies to accommodate our children’s mental illness so they are suspended, expelled, and criminalized for their behaviors and truancy.
- Juvenile detention centers are filled with mental health patients because their symptoms (i.e. their behaviors) often become violent, destructive, or otherwise dangerous when they do not receive appropriate services and support.