With The Mental Health Project, we're shining a brighter light on a growing crisis
Seattle TimesSep 13, 2021
Sep. 12—It's confounding and tragic that mental health struggles are so widespread and still so stigmatized that people suffer and even die without seeking help.
And for those who do reach out, a shortage of care providers often leaves them helpless.
We want to help change that.
On
Evidence points to a mental health crisis growing in the Northwest, across the country and around the world — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic fallout and the nation's racial reckoning. Anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other disorders are straining our schools, criminal-justice systems and social services, and disproportionately hitting vulnerable people including people of color.
To tackle this weighty and complex subject, we are building a team of two reporters, an editor and an engagement editor.
The team will define the scope of the problem and put the
This initiative has been funded for two years by
Our team will be led by editor
Samuels said the COVID-19 pandemic has "put into stark relief the necessity and value of talking about and treating mental health issues in the
"For decades, the country has used its emergency rooms, jails and prisons as a broken mental health system, and the results are seen in our homelessness crisis and the revolving doors of incarceration," she said. "The collective trauma of the pandemic has had profound effects on mental health worldwide, with its impact on children particularly carrying the potential to affect an entire generation for decades to come."
Samuels will lead two reporters:
Jimenez has been a fellow at
The team will work closely with our photo, video, graphics and data journalists. And an engagement editor to be named soon will join them, focusing on direct interaction with readers — both in person and online. As with our other community-funded newsroom teams —
In fact, you can start now. Please share any thoughts you have about this topic to mentalhealth@seattletimes.com or leave a voicemail at 206-464-2090.
We've already heard from many of you, suggesting a wide range of topics: The shortage of therapists and inpatient treatment beds. What to do if an adult child has a manic breakdown. Why so many adult women seem to be getting diagnosed with ADHD. How fentanyl is affecting addiction rates and treatment. The intersection between mental illness and homelessness. What can be done about inequitable access to care. How to combat depression among seniors.
It feels like an endless list of stories to do. And that, we realize, is the point of
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