Our kids are telling us: “We are struggling with mental health.” From the Covid-19 disruptions, academic pressures, and addictive social media to navigating adolescence in a time of political and economic uncertainty, it is a tough time for many to be young in America.
DOWNLOAD: Mental Health Support & Suicide Prevention for Schools in Tompkins County
National and local surveys of school students reflect the seriousness of the crisis. In a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of high schoolers said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Twenty-nine percent reported poor mental health, and 20 percent said they had considered taking their own lives.
A survey of high school and middle school students in Tompkins County came up with similar patterns. Forty-seven percent said they felt anxious or worried on most days, 35 percent felt sad or depressed on most days, and 34 percent said that “sometimes I think life is not worth it.”
Such data prompt a call to action, to intensify our efforts to safeguard the mental well-being of children growing up in our precarious digital age.
In that spirit, the new resources guide was created by the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Central New York, National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes, Mental Health Association in Tompkins County, and The Sophie Fund.
“Mental health and well-being start with our youth. At a young age, understanding warning signs and developing coping skills can provide a foundation for supportive strategies to be carried into adulthood. Talking about suicide is how we start supporting our young people,” said Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service.
“Gaining an educated understanding of how to have conversations around crisis and suicide can save lives. Dedicating a matter of hours could save a youth’s life. We need to invest the time. We offer a variety of suicide prevention trainings and workshops at no cost to those who want to learn more.”
After providing a brief “Mental Health and Suicide 101” introduction, the resources guide details the education and training that the local organizations are ready to present to Tompkins school administrators, teachers, students, and parents.
If you have a comment, concern, or suggestion about mental health in Tompkins schools, please feel free to email it to The Sophie Fund: thesophiefund2016@gmail.com.
The resources guide compiles handbooks and toolkits to assist Tompkins schools in developing mental health promotion and bullying prevention programming as well as suicide prevention strategies in their school communities. The guide points to recommendations for youth use of social media issued by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association.
The organizations launched the resources guide in last September during Suicide Prevention Month and immediately distributed copies to the superintendents of the seven school districts in Tompkins County.
At the same time, the organizations requested an opportunity to meet directly with the superintendents and their leadership teams to provide a presentation on the support services available and respond to any concerns or questions they may have.
Tompkins school districts include Ithaca City School District; Lansing Central School District; Trumansburg Center School District; Newfield Central School District; Groton Central School District; Dryden Central School District; and TST BOCES. (As of late January 2025, three school districts had responded positively to the request.)
If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed legislation to restrict smartphone use in K-12 schools throughout New York State, saying the measure would advance distraction-free education for the benefit of students and their mental health.
Under the proposal, use of smartphones and other internet-enabled personal devices would be prohibited on school grounds for the entire school day, including classroom time and other settings like lunch and study hall periods.
Students would still be authorized to have access to simple cell phones without internet capability, as well as internet-enabled devices officially provided by their school for classroom instruction, such as laptops or tablets used as part of lesson plans, Hochul said.
Additionally, the proposal notes several exemptions to the smartphone restrictions, such as for students who require access to an internet-enabled device to manage a medical condition, where required by a student’s Individualized Education Program, or for other academic purposes like translation. Schools must give parents a way to contact their kids during the day if needed, according to the proposal.
The restrictions would begin with the 2025-26 school year and would apply to all schools in public school districts, as well as charter schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).
Schools would be required to develop their own plans for storing smartphones during the day, giving administrators and teachers the flexibility to do what works best for their buildings and students. Hochul’s proposal includes $13.5 million in funding to help schools that need help purchasing smartphone storage solutions.
The report said that smartphones distract students and inhibit learning and creativity, and that phone-free school environments support the mental health of students and teachers without compromising student safety. The report said that an effective distraction-free policy must restrict phone for the entire school day and not solely during classroom times. Schools can strengthen their distraction-free environment by connecting more students with in-person engagement like clubs, sports, arts and other programming, the report added.
Hochul launched her smartphone restriction push at an event held Wednesday at Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland, NY. Farnsworth initiated a smartphone ban at the beginning of the school year. Hochul was joined by New York State United Teachers President Melinda Person, New York State Parent Teacher Association Vice President and parent Roberto Rijos, Farnsworth Middle School student Anika Bhupati, New York State Police Superintendent Steven James, NAACP New York City Chapter President Anthony Harmon, State Senator Patricia Fahy, and Farnsworth school leaders.
“All across America, war is being waged for our children’s minds. It is that profound. Kids are being deceived with addictive algorithms, toxic social media. Cell phones can be so manipulative. It becomes addictive, like a drug. These young people, and I’ve heard them, they’re calling for help,” Hochul said.
“As the adults in the room, the policymakers, it’s our job to pick up that call. I believe we will be judged harshly if we don’t look at the data that is so overwhelming of the negative impact of social media and cell phones on children’s developmental abilities to function not only as kids but as adults. And how so many times social media platforms have had a profoundly negative impact on our children’s mental health, especially the young girls who are contemplating suicide and screening for depression at higher rates than ever before. There’s something going on here. We can no longer turn a blind eye to it.”
Farnsworth Middle School, Guilderland, NY
Hochul framed her proposal as part of her ongoing commitment to protecting youth mental health and promoting student success in the digital age. Last year, she signed a first-in-the-nation law to restrict addictive social media feeds for minors.
In Ithaca, Hochul’s proposal drew support from Mayor Robert Cantelmo and The Sophie Fund.
“We have seen time and again that we cannot rely on tech companies to prioritize our children over their bottom line. Governor Hochul is taking a firm stance to put learning and our educational environments first by empowering administrators to keep addictive cellphone use out of the classroom. I am grateful to see the Governor pair this initiative with $13.5 million in proposed funding to facilitate its implementation,” Cantelmo said.
Co-founder Scott MacLeod said that The Sophie Fund is grateful for the governor’s robust efforts to address the mental health challenges facing young people.
“The governor’s initiative to restrict the use of smartphones in schools is a critical step in keeping our kids focused on classwork and safer from the harms associated with digital overload in today’s youth culture. We know that addictive scrolling and interactions on social media correlate with depression, anxiety, loneliness, cyberbullying, and even suicidal ideation,” he said.
“Beyond appreciating its envisioned day-to-day practical impact, we welcome Governor Hochul’s proposal as a call to action for parents, school personnel, and all youth-serving professionals to intensify the work of safeguarding the mental wellbeing of children growing up in our precarious digital age.”
America is experiencing a youth mental health and suicide crisis, as kids grow up in a world that is increasingly stressful and scary for them, according to Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.
Tiffany Bloss speaks at youth mental health town hall
Bloss said that a quarter of the young people who die in the United States today take their own lives. She said the causes of suicide are complex, but pointed to stress factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, academic pressures, addictive social media, poor family relationships, and financial anxiety.
“They are trying to navigate so many things in their world, and it is a scary place to be right now. And, with social media, there is no escape,” she said.
Bloss was a featured speaker at “Youth Mental Health & Wellness,” a community town hall hosted by the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition at the Tompkins County Public Library on October 5.
Bloss said that suicide is preventable, and emphasized the importance of normalizing discussions about mental health and being aware of warning signs that could be indicators of suicidal thoughts.
“We talk about our physical health all the time. We don’t ask about mental health. If your gut tells you that something is kind of going on for your youth, you’ve really got to ask them questions about suicide and see what we can do and open up that conversation,” she said.
Some of the warning signs Bloss described were not going out with friends anymore, failed relationships, slipping grades, changes in sleep patterns, excessive agitation or anger, and talking about dying by suicide.
She said that her agency and others in Tompkins County offer support services to address mental health challenges and emotional crises. She said that when people have serious concerns about themselves or someone else, it is wise to call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Melanie Little, director of Education and Youth Services at the Mental Health Association of Tompkins County, spoke about the importance of recognizing risk factors can make youth more vulnerable to developing a mental health disorder.
Melanie Little provides “Mental Health 101”
Among the risk factors are trauma, substance abuse, social marginalization, lack of supportive relationships, a physical illness or disability, and bullying, she said. She said mental disorders are increasingly common in youth, with 1 in 3 teens experiencing anxiety, 1 in 5 major depression, and 1 in 5 eating disorders.
Little emphasized the need to avoid perpetuating stigma around mental health. She listed some common examples of stigmatizing language that can be harmful to young people struggling with a disorder.
“Everyone has anxiety. Some people are just stronger than you are.”
“Therapy and medications are just scams. You don’t need them.”
“What do you mean you can’t get out of bed? It’s not like your legs aren’t working.”
“Kids can’t have mental illness. What have they got to worry about in life?”
“All women are a bit bipolar.”
Pat Breux, former director of School and Youth Initiatives at the Suicide Prevention Center of New York, discussed the vital role that schools play in preventing youth suicide.
“We take an approach that we call ‘confident, connected, caring school communities.’ What that means is everyone has a role to play. Everyone is challenged to have the competencies to notice, and know where, when, and how to access help for somebody when somebody’s in need,” she said.
Breux said schools can help educate parents about mental health starting when the children enter kindergarten. “We need to start having those conversations and preparing parents for the idea that mental health crises are pretty common by the time kids get into middle school or high school. And you need to be able to recognize that early and know how to get help for your kid,” she said.
In New York State last year, Breux said, more 5,000 children went to the emergency department for self-injurious behavior.
“About 2,000 of those kids ended up hospitalized. Where did the other 3,000 end up the next morning? Back in school. Were they fixed? No. There are kids who are going to struggle with suicidality who need access to education. They need to be able to move through life with that. How do we create the environment that those kids can be okay and make sure that we’re having some kind of eyes on them and they have access to the supports that they need at the level that they need?”
Breux distributed copies of “A Guide for Suicide Prevention for New York Schools,” a booklet prepared by the Suicide Prevention Center of New York that provides information for training school staff and educating parents as well as targeted and individualized interventions against suicide risk.
Town Hall organized by the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition
Other speakers at the town hall included Shawn Goodman, a psychologist in the Ithaca Central School District; Nicole Roulstin, Contact Center Manager for 211 Tompkins/Cortland; a student at Tompkins Cortland Community College; and Randy Brown, a member of the Tompkins County Legislature.
Goodman said several things inspired him to write the self-help manual. He said that he noticed that some people his age were still struggling with their childhood issues. And while he found books to help adults heal their issues, he couldn’t find any books for kids to help them before they became adults themselves.
“And I had kids coming in essentially asking for that, saying ‘This is going on with my dad. This is going on with my mom. I want my relationship to be better. How do I do that?’”
Goodman said his favorite strategy for living in a difficult family is to learn how to manage the situation, not the relationship.
“Many kids are holding the entire relationship and feeling responsibility for it. I tell kids it’s not your job to change your parents’ behavior. And even if it were your job, it’s mission impossible. So instead, just try and manage each situation. Throughout the book, if kids stick with it, I’m really hoping that they’re going to be building confidence in navigating difficult situations and improve their outcomes, one moment at a time,” he said.
The Tompkins Cortland Community College student shared a personal story of a suicidal crisis that began before she turned 11. She said that while she grew up in a supportive family, an attentive youth pastor and later a therapist played crucial roles in guiding her on a path to healing. “Sometimes talking to parents can be really challenging especially for a middle schooler,” she said.
The student noted that that while she is feeling fantastic and is enjoying college today, speaking about her ordeal is still difficult. She said she agreed to speak about it publicly for the first time at the town hall because “I thought it was a good idea to bring awareness.”
In her presentation, Roulstin provided an overview of how the 2-1-1 hotline can help Tompkins residents access a multitude of community services for support, including food, housing, transportation, health and mental health, utilities, legal aid, veteran needs, job listings, and tax assistance. She said the hotline uses a database with over 1,600 local, state, and federal resources.
Tompkins County Legislator Randy Brown: “The issue of our time”
Brown provided the town hall’s welcome remarks, saying “I think mental health and wellness is the issue of our time, more important than any other issue that I can think of. When I ran for the legislature a few years ago, it was the number one issue for me and still is. I think that there’s more that we can do as a county.”
The Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition is comprised of health agencies, community organizations, and individual members who share a determination to prevent suicide deaths in our community. It is a collective of volunteers that strives for diverse and inclusive representation and encourages collaboration for achieving goals.
If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
In Tompkins County schools, 1 in 4 students report being bullied on school property
The report said that 19 percent of survey respondents reported being bullied at school, compared to 15 percent in the 2021 YRBS survey. The figure was slightly lower than the 20 percent who reported being a victim of bullying on school property back in 2013.
Twenty-two percent of female students and 29 percent of those identifying as LGBTQ+, compared to 17 percent of male students, reported being bullied at school.
The percentage of males and females reporting school bullying in 2023 compared to 2021 increased from 13 percent to 17 percent, and 17 percent to 22 percent, respectively. The percentage of LGBTQ+ students reporting school bullying jumped from 23 percent to 29 percent.
The percentage of students reporting cyberbullying has remained very constant over the past 10 years, fluctuating between 15 percent and 16 percent. Female and LGBTQ+ students, 21 percent and 25 percent, respectively, were about twice as likely to be bullied online than male students (12 percent).
The national data show that 23 percent of white teens, 21 percent of multiracial teens, 17 percent of American Indian teens, 16 percent of Hispanic teens, 14 percent of Black teens, and 11 percent of Asian teens, reported being bullied at school.
The survey showed that 20 percent of white teens, 18 percent of multiracial teens, 15 percent of American Indian teens, 14 percent of Hispanic teens, 13 percent of Asian teens, and 11 percent of Black teens experienced cyberbullying.
In Tompkins County, youth bullying appears more prevalent than the national average, according to the Community-Level Youth Development Evaluation (CLYDE) survey of students in grades 7-12 in 2023.
According to the survey, 27.4 percent of the Tompkins students reported being bullied at school and 20 percent reported being cyberbullied.
The 2023 figures represented a jump from the data reported in the previous 2021 CLYDE survey. Students reporting being bullied at school increased from 21.2 percent to 27.4 percent; those reporting cyberbullying dipped slightly from 20.8 percent to 20 percent.
READ: Bullying Prevention Month Activities in Tompkins County
The CLYDE survey numbers may skew higher in part because, unlike the national YRBS, the Tompkins data includes 7th and 8th graders who register bullying experiences anywhere from five to 15 percentage points higher than high schoolers.
Indeed, the highest percentages for Tompkins school bullying and cyberbullying were among middle school students; 34.7 percent and 39 percent of 7th and 8th grade students, respectively, reported being bullied at school. Similarly, 23.8 percent and 25 percent, respectively, reported being cyberbullied.
Those numbers represent a notable increase since the 2021 CLYDE survey, when 29 percent and 24.6 percent of 7th and 8th graders, respectively, reported school bullying; and 23 percent and 22.4 percent reported being cyberbullied.
Broken down by gender and race in the CLYDE survey, being a victim of bullying at school was reported by 36.6 percent of all other gender identities, 36.3 percent of Black girls, 34.8 percent of all American Indian youth, 33.9 percent of all Black youth, 29 percent of all girls, 25.9 percent of all Hispanic youth, 24.8 percent of all males, and 19.3 percent of all Asian youth.
Being a victim of cyberbullying was reported by 28.3 percent of Black girls, 27 percent of all American Indians, 24.6 percent of all Black youth, 24.3 percent of all girls, 19.5 percent of Hispanic youth, 19 percent of all other gender identities, and 16.2 percent of all males, and 16.2 percent of all Asian youth.
The CDC defines youth bullying as “any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated.” The CDC says that bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm.
According to stopbullying.gov, a website operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the relationship between bullying and suicide is complex. The website says that persistent bullying can lead to or worsen feelings of isolation, rejection, exclusion, and despair, as well as depression and anxiety, which can contribute to suicidal behavior. But most young people who die by suicide have multiple risk factors, the website says.
Concerned about bullying? To contact or join the Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force, email The Sophie Fund at: thesophiefund2016@gmail.com
Our young people often put on a good face. But when they are anonymously surveyed about how they’re doing, their responses are concerning. In fact, more than one-third of middle and high school students in Tompkins County say they feel depressed or sad on most days and that “sometimes I think life is not worth it.”
“Our youth are struggling,” said town hall organizer Tiffany Bloss
A community town hall will be held at the Tompkins County Public Library on Saturday October 5 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to throw light on the mental health challenges many of our young people are experiencing.
“Youth Mental Health & Wellness Town Hall,” organized and hosted by the Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition, will provide information on how to support the well-being of our youth and hear testimonies from young community members themselves.
The event, part of the United in Kindness series of events in Tompkins County, will feature short Ted Talk-style presentations with an opportunity for Q&A with like local mental health leaders.
Shawn Goodman, an author and psychologist in the Ithaca Central School District, will share anecdotes from his new book, How to Survive Your Parents.
Organizer Tiffany Bloss, executive director of the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County, said she encouraged youth as well as their caregivers to attend.
“This is such an important topic for our community. Our youth are struggling. There are so many pressures in their lives that other generations did not have to deal with: heightened academic standards, family pressures, compromised school safety, a global pandemic, and the ever-present social media. At the town hall, we will be discussing all of these topics and more,” Bloss said.
Bloss emphasized the critical importance of tending to mental health in youth.
“Mental health is vital to the overall health and well-being in a person’s life. The adolescent years are crucial for developing social and emotional habits that build a foundation for mental well-being. These include good sleeping habits, regular movement of the body, self-care routines, developing problem-solving and interpersonal skills, and learning to manage emotions. Protective and supportive environments within the family, at school and in the wider community are important to a youth’s mental health,” Bloss said.
Town hall attendees are encouraged to register (not mandatory) at https://bit.ly/4gsfGr6.
The Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition is comprised of health agencies, community organizations, and individual members who share a determination to prevent suicide deaths in our community. It is a collective of volunteers that strives for diverse and inclusive representation and encourages collaboration for achieving goals.
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