It takes more than one parent, professional or institution to succeed in supporting Mercer Island’s youth, according to the city’s Youth and Family Services (YFS) Administrator Derek Franklin.
The goal of the tight-knit community is to have thriving young adults on the Island with their well-being including: Physical, mental and behavioral health; education and learning; physical and psychological safety; sense of purpose and more.
“We’re here tonight because all of us want these things for our kids,” Franklin said at the start of the two-hour “It Takes an Island” MI Healthy Youth Community Forum on Feb. 2 virtual via Zoom.
Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Jason Kilmer — a University of Washington professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences — the data-driven forum delved into how parent and youth behavior and health choices set youth up for success as young adults and recent research findings on youth substance use and the impact on mental health, according to a press release.
Students, parents, educators, leaders and community members tuned into the event, which also featured breakout rooms for attendees to share perspectives and concerns regarding youth well-being.
Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior Kirin Lancaster — who is a member of the Youth Matters student group — said the group aims to educate students and find ways to combat a high school culture of tolerated and normalized binge drinking and drug use.
Kilmer mainly focused on dealing with alcohol and cannabis use and understanding potency, noting that, “We have so much research that shows what we do about substance use pays dividends on our mental health.”
He also touched upon building bridges between peers (how to check on a classmate you’re worried about) and between parents/guardians and their students through communication.
According to data from the Institute for Behavior and Health and the Center on Young Adult Health and Development, students who use substances are at an increased risk for academic failure, including dropping out.
“If someone really says, ‘I want to do well in school,’ but their memory’s off — they can’t focus, they can’t concentrate and they’re using cannabis — stopping their use will lead to improvements in those cognitive abilities,” said Kilmer, adding about how drinking can affect student athletes’ performances: “The research shows that the more someone drinks, the more it impacts recovery. If someone’s looking for a competitive edge, choosing to abstain will buy them that.”
Presentation slides containing data from the 2023 WA Healthy Youth Survey showed that 32% of MIHS sophomores and seniors reported 30-day use of alcohol and 20% binge drinking, 19% marijuana, 14% vape and %1.4 fentanyl use amongst students in the same grades and same time frame.
In the mental health portion of the survey, it showed that 38% of MIHS sophomores and seniors reported experiencing anxiety and 24% reported experiencing depression.
On the positive side of things as noted in the protective factors section of the survey, students in those aforementioned grade levels have trusted adults they can confide in (85%) and are hopeful in life (80%).
“Trusted adults, our kids have people to go to and that makes a huge difference. That’s whether it’s our teachers, our school counselors, our neighbors, our family members, our faith community — that’s solid to see,” Franklin said.
After emerging from the student breakout room, Lancaster spoke for the group with this rundown of concerns: “I think just the general balancing of social life, athletics, pressure to get good grades, join a sport, do extracurriculars are all pretty big issues that students sometimes don’t feel that the parents or teachers understand. We want to balance it out and then bridge the gap of communication between students and adults.”
Whenever she’s on the MIHS campus, forum facilitator and YFS Health Promotion and Prevention Coordinator Michelle Ritter appreciates hearing students supporting one another around their mental health. She added that it makes a huge difference.
In the parents’ breakout room, Kilmer discussed the importance about being assertive regarding healthy no-use alcohol expectations (for underage youth) or low-risk use expectations (for young adults) rather than purely modeling abstinence, and that it’s crucial to have conversations with kids around substances.
The MI Healthy Youth Initiative and YFS forum was presented in partnership with the Mercer Island School District. Grant funding was provided by King County Best Starts for Kids and the King County Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Behavioral Health Sales Tax Fund.
For more information and resources for talking with kids, adolescents and teens about substances, visit: https://www.mihealthyyouth.com/important-conversations