What’s your experience with youth mental health in Illinois?

A WBEZ investigation found a lifeline for children in extreme emotional distress has become a bridge to nowhere. Help us dig deeper into youth mental health issues.

A row of room number signs from St. Bernard Hospital Emergency department
Scenes from inside the Emergency department at St. Bernard Hospital on February 22, 2023. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ
A row of room number signs from St. Bernard Hospital Emergency department
Scenes from inside the Emergency department at St. Bernard Hospital on February 22, 2023. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

What’s your experience with youth mental health in Illinois?

A WBEZ investigation found a lifeline for children in extreme emotional distress has become a bridge to nowhere. Help us dig deeper into youth mental health issues.

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WBEZ recently investigated an Illinois government program called SASS that is supposed to be a lifeline for children in mental health crisis. But we found this program is riddled with holes, leaving families scrambling to get the care their children need.

Part of the problem is there are few places to send children in distress, from outpatient therapy to hospital psychiatric units. (See WBEZ’s mental health resource guide for some ways to seek treatment for your child.)

Reporters Kristen Schorsch and Sarah Karp want to hear your experiences with the child and adolescent mental health care system. They’re interested in learning more about the experiences of families, schools, mental health providers and advocates with the SASS program, and more broadly about access to youth mental health services.