Army of Angels

The recent appearance of sunshine has been a welcome change after a long, dark winter, and has had me reflecting on Mental Health Awareness Month in May. The longer hours of light remind me of what I’ve missed in the winter and that many things in life are difficult to see. I find this is true whether what I’m looking for is hidden by darkness or hidden by stigma, isolation, or behavioral patterns.

Mental health challenges present themselves in ways that we cannot see, making the issue of awareness even more important for appropriate treatment. Locally, we have plenty of awareness work to do. Oregon is reported to have the highest prevalence of youth who suffered at least one Major Depressive Episode in the past year according to Mental Health America’s publication, The State of Mental Health in America, 2016. Mental health challenges lead to school suspension, foster care, and in crisis situations can lead to physical harm.

Children enter mental health services at Albertina Kerr when their ability to function in their home, in school, or in the community is impaired. Our children’s mental health professionals go into the community to provide outpatient care wherever the child and their family is struggling. We believe that the challenges facing the children we serve are inextricably tied to the basic problems of daily life and cannot be considered separately from family, school, neighborhood, community and other social contexts.

In a crisis situation, children often come to us with suicidal thoughts and feelings. We offer one of the only options for kids in Oregon for short-term residential psychiatric care. In our crisis program, stabilization is our goal. We work to return kids back to their home community within two to three weeks stabilized and ready for ongoing community-based care.

We must not shy away from the unseen challenges that we and our children experience. To help reduce the stigma of mental health challenges, we encourage folks to share their story. Bringing our struggles into the light lets other people know that they are not alone. Also, write to or call your elected representative and let them know the importance of mental health services in your community.

Most importantly, if you or someone you know needs help for a child with a mental health challenge, please call us at 503-408-4705 and choose option 1. We can help.