Youth Statistics:

•  Over 50% of U.S children have experienced at least one serious trauma (known as ACEs- Adverse Childhood Experiences)

• 16 million children live at or below the poverty level (6 million under age 6)

• 30% of inner city students have witnessed a stabbing or shooting

• As many as 2.5 million youth per year experience homelessness

• 1 out of every 4 children in school has been exposed to a traumatic event

• Approx. 2 out of 3 children have been exposed to violence; 1 in 6 report 6+ exposures to violence

• Over the last 10 years, the proportion of pediatric ER visits for mental health reasons has almost doubled, including a 5-fold increase in suicide-related visits.

• By 2019, approximately 1 in 5 American children experienced mental illness every year, with only half of them receiving the necessary treatment

• In 2021, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, citing the serious toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on top of existing challenges. 

• Youth at greatest risk for mental illness include children and adolescents living in low-income households, youth with disabilities and minorities who often experience disparities in accessible mental health treatment, with 13% of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds receiving mental health services compared to 31% of their non-minority peers. 

• Research indicates that youth living with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) experience exposure to trauma at a higher rate than their non-disabled peers.  

       source: https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/about-child-trauma