America has an urgent youth mental health crisis. In 2024, more than 20% of youth experienced at least one major depressive episode, and 56% of youth with major depression did not receive mental health treatment. Recently, emergency rooms saw a significant increase in the proportion of emergency room visits for mental health reasons in young people. This crisis which was worsened by the pandemic, continues to grow.

When youth who are struggling with anxious and depressed feelings can’t get the services and support they need, it can become overwhelming for them, their parents, and educators alike. But we can do something about it. That’s why Inseparable and 33 other organizations joined to form the Hopeful Futures Campaign. We believe that every child, in every school, should get the mental health services they need so they can thrive.

Recent data shows a small but important improvement in youth mental health–a decrease in the percentage of students overall who experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness from 42% to 40%. School-based mental health services are making a difference.

We have just released the second edition of our national report card–the first of its kind–that shows each state’s progress in enacting policies that support school mental health, with recommendations for how to improve. We built an action center to empower anyone who cares about our children and youth to learn more and drive change in their community.