NEWS

Kids in Crisis tackles teen suicide

Rory Linnane
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Wisconsin ranks among the worst states for rates of youth depression, youth suicide, and shortages of care providers. At the same time, hope is abundant in the stories of youth with mental health challenges, their families and their allies.

Kids in Crisis is USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's groundbreaking series on youth mental health. It's been recognized by the Poynter Institute and MediaShift for its engaging approach, involving dozens of community events and countless reader submissions from videos to personal essays. The lead reporter received the Wisconsin Media Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Our team of 25 journalists around the state have spent two years reporting on the topic and we hope you will join us in continuing to seek solutions for youth mental health.

Below, you can catch up on our reporting so far.

'13 Reasons Why' raises alarms about teen suicide 

For better and worse, the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why" got people talking about youth suicide and mental health. We found that there was an uptick in teens reaching out to crisis lines for help. Some said the show dangerously romanticized suicide.

In response, we sponsored discussions in Neenah and Green Bay between youth and mental health experts to help communities digest the show in healthy ways and connect families with mental health resources.

2017 reporting: Childhood experiences shape mental health

In our second year of reporting, we examined how young brains can be damaged - and healed - depending on the support and resources around them:

We also held community discussions and suicide prevention training around the state: Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Wausau, Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point and Marshfield.

On Children's Mental Health Awareness Day in May, we took the conversation to the state capital, with Gov. Scott Walker speaking as families from around the state discussed ways forward.

Wisconsin Kids in Crisis

2016 reporting: Kids falling through cracks

As we launched the Kids in Crisis series in January 2016, we looked at why youth in Wisconsin experience mental health challenges and die by suicide at higher rates than in most other states.

After exploring the extent of the problems, we sought ways to improve youth mental health. We highlighted the most successful initiatives in the state and looked at how to bring help to more kids and teens.

We then held a series of 10 town hall meetings around the state to hear from experts and residents on what should be done to improve youth mental health: in ManitowocGreen BayMarshfieldWisconsin RapidsFond du LacStevens PointOshkoshWausauSheboygan, and Appleton.

With the growing attention to mental health through our reporting and town hall meetings, we wanted to get ideas into action. We enlisted experts from around the state to give recommendations, we traveled to Minnesota to highlight a model for school-based mental health, and finally we offered ideas for action in an editorial.

We held a day of action in Madison on Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, and began tracking legislative action.

Reader submissions

Throughout the series, we've asked readers to submit their own stories about mental health in their own words. Read the submissions from youth, parents and caregivers:

We are still accepting submissions. If you're interested, please check out our guidelines and be in touch with reporter Rory Linnane at rlinnane@gannett.com.