One of NAMI’s main goals is to ensure that people get help early. Since mental health conditions typically begin during childhood, adolescence or young adulthood, we have compiled essential information and resources intended to help young people get the mental health support they need.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
SAMHSA’s new 988 website serves as a one-stop-shop for 988 resources. It explains what 988, the new suicide and crisis lifeline, does and provides information relevant to anyone working to strengthen suicide prevention and mental health crisis services.
Studies Show Dramatic Racial Disparities in Front End of Juvenile Justice System
This resource points to diversion—the practice of holding youth accountable without invoking legal sanctions—as one potential path to addressing these stark racial disparities.
Youth Incarceration in the United States
This infographic from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is based on federal data and presents positive and negative trends in youth incarceration between 1995 and 2019. It also offers recommendations for more effective responses than incarceration when young people break the law.
Making the Case for a Comprehensive Children’s Crisis Continuum of Care
This brief, produced by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, argues that a crisis continuum of care designed specifically to meet the needs of children, youth, young adults, and their parents/caregivers is necessary.