Initiative works to strengthen mental health services for kids across Southwest Florida
LEE COUNTY, Fla. —
Rayne Foreman was 15 years old during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Isolation turned into anxiety and depression, which eventually turned into self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
“I didn’t really want to eat, I didn’t want to drink,” Foreman said. “I could feel it almost to, like, the end point. Of like, I have two decisions to make. I have the decision to end it, or I have the decision to try and get help.”
Foreman would get help. She called her older brother, which led to a Baker Act. But it was help she so desperately needed.
After that, she started therapy. It took time, but it worked.
“It felt like something was just taken off my chest, and I could relax,” she said. “Very slowly, I could feel myself getting back to some sort of normal.”
Dr. Jason Sabo, a psychologist with Lee Health, is the one who treated Foreman.
“Mental health doesn’t discriminate,” Sabo said. “It doesn’t care who you are or where you came from.”
The help Foreman received was thanks in part to Kids’ Minds Matter, a fundraiser initiative on the Gulf Coast to strengthen mental health services for kids and teens.
Expanding access to care – especially in the social media era – has become critical, Sabo said.
“You have this format where kids are just enticed to be on their phone all the time, connecting less, and so we see all of these disorders that come out of it,” he said.
This year marks a decade for Kids’ Minds Matter. The movement has raised more than $20 million over that time.
Money goes to hire new providers, open new offices or start new programs, among other things.
The goal is to reach kids they otherwise wouldn’t.
“It’s not only helping people who don’t have the funding, but it’s also finding the ability to connect with people who don’t have the resources of even knowing when to look for help — or that they need help,” Sabo said.
While there has been huge growth over the past decade, the need is still great.
Data recently compiled by the Collaboratory revealed the Gulf Coast has less than half the mental health professionals the area actually needs.
“We currently have a wait list of over 250,” Sabo said. “Regardless of how many providers we’ve added, it seems like that need is still there. And it’s something that we think about on a daily basis.”
And that only underscores the need for Kids’ Minds Matter.
Foreman said that access to treatment saved her life.
“It means everything. Without it, I wouldn’t be here,” she said. “So I’m just grateful for that.”
Today, Foreman is thriving. She’s become someone her teenage self could never have imagined. She received a full ride to FGCU and is now nearly done with college.
She’s sharing the story of her struggle in hopes that it can save another life.
“This isn’t something that just you are facing. There are so many other people facing challenges like that. And it’s OK,” she said. “I think it’s important to encourage getting that help and not feeling ashamed.”
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