OLATHE, Kan. — KVC Health Systems and Legacy Brokers hosted an inaugural Mental Wellness Expo in Olathe on Thursday.
A large group of insurance providers, educators, healthcare workers and mental health advocates gathered in a room to break down the stigma around mental health and to find solutions.
“It’s some of the first steps, really meeting the needs we have in our community,” KVC Health Systems’ Vice President of Behavioral Health Services Sara Schlagel said.
Schlagel said the on-going mental health crisis is at an all time high following two years of isolation during the pandemic. According to a world wide survey, 41% of youth are experiencing anxiety.
“The stress of the pandemic has overall increased levels of anxiety and depression,” Schlagel said. “We have more children coming to our emergency departments with suicidal thoughts or attempts than we have before.”
The event hosted two different panels of community leaders who work in mental health. Kevin Timmons, vice chair of Fore The Kids, spoke about the mental health issues he saw as a parent who lost a son to suicide in 2017.
He pivoted the mission of his foundation, Fore The Kids, to address mental health in honor of him.
“Some kids are really good at hiding depression, I think my son was good at hiding depression,” Timmons said. “Just in one week he lost a job and he lost a girlfriend and on one horrific night, he lost hope.”
Other panelists talked about what needs to change at the grassroots level, starting with stigma.
“It brings this sense of relief from so many people when they hear another person say, 'oh I gotta go see my therapist' or 'I gotta go get my medication refilled,'” Emily Snow with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City said.
Snow encourages parents to normalize these conversations.
“Are you thinking about hurting yourself? That is not going to cause them to hurt themselves. And so the best thing you can do as a parent, a connection or a support is to talk and connect with those children,” Snow said.
Schlagel said local resources are there but that there are never enough. To get to the root of the cause, she believes it starts from the top.
“If we feel like we need additional mental health services, it's contacting your local politicians over your communities, cities or counties and advocating for the increase in funding and attention to those needs,” Schlagel said.
