Council Member Oliver Koppell, chair of the Mental Health Committee, said New York City needs to do more to help youth with mental health issues.
At a recent hearing, Koppell said there are between 15,000 and 30,000 runaway and homeless youth in the city, and that many of them have undiagnosed or recently diagnosed mental illnesses such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction.
Koppell emphasized the need for preventative services to identify and treat symptoms of mental illness among youths before they become runaways. He is considering introducing a legislation that would require having a mental health professional available at every school in addition to the school’s full-time nurse.
“Identifying and treating mental health issues at an early age will help avoid many serious problems later that often lead to youth becoming runaways,” Koppell said.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.