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Mental Health Awareness Month 2024

Mental Health Awareness Month May 2024. Two women sit and talk, one holding a clipboard.

May is widely recognized as Mental Health Awareness month, and prioritizing mental health is essential to the success of Michigan students as they transition into postsecondary education and beyond. A recent report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that across all students surveyed, one in five (22 percent) have considered dropping out due to mental health challenges or emotional stress, and female students cite this reason at nearly twice the percentage (28 percent) as their male counterparts (15 percent). MCAN has compiled several resources and articles to help support Michiganders in May — and year-round.

Image Description: The image is an infographic titled "Youth Mental Health: The Numbers" and contains multiple graphs and explanatory texts. It is divided into two main sections: "Depressive Symptoms" on the left and "Attempted Suicide" on the right.  Depressive Symptoms: Section: Top Graph (Line Graph)  Title: "Depressive Symptoms" Description: It depicts the percentage of high school students feeling sad and hopeless over a ten-year period from 2011 to 2021. There is a rising trend shown by a blue line, indicating an increase in depressive symptoms among 9th-12th grade students, peaking around 2021. X-axis: Labeled "Year" with tick marks for the years 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Y-axis: Labeled with percentages ranging from 0 to 45%. Bottom Graph (Bar Graph)  Title: "Depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts by demographic characteristics" Description: Illustrates depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts by various demographics. The bar graph shows percentages of depressive symptoms among different student demographics. X-axis: Categories include Male, Female, White, Black, Hispanic, Heterosexual, and LGBQ+. Y-axis: Percentages are marked in increments of 10, ranging from 0 to 70%. Attempted Suicide Section: Top Graph (Line Graph)  Title: "Attempted Suicide" Description: The graph shows the percentages of high school students who have attempted suicide from 2011 to 2021. A green line depicts fluctuations over the years, with a slight increase visible in 2021. X-axis: Labeled "Year", with tick marks for 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. Y-axis: Labeled with percentages from 0 to 16%. Bottom Graph (Bar Graph)  Title: "Suicidal thoughts and behaviors by demographic characteristics" Description: This section displays the percentage of students who attempted suicide across different demographics. The bar graph uses varying heights to denote these percentages. X-axis: Categories include Male, Female, White, Black, Hispanic, Heterosexual, and LGBQ+. Y-axis: Percentages marked in increments of 5, ranging from 0 to 25%. Footnotes: Asterisks (*) denote a note about the use of the term "LGBQ+" which excludes transgender statistics due to lack of data in 2021. Source is listed as: "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011-2021."

Graphs from CDC Adolescent and School Health

Supporting mental health initiatives is a key  component of ensuring every student has the means to achieve their educational goals. Our mission at MCAN is to increase college readiness, participation, and completion in Michigan, particularly among low-income students, first-generation college-going students, and students of color. Promoting equity in Michigan through college access means providing the necessary support to at-risk students so that they can persist through postsecondary education and attain their educational and career goals. 

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MCAN recognizes May as Mental Health Awareness month. We've compiled several resources and articles to help support Michiganders in May — and year-round.

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