New York advocates push for millions in funding for the state youth mental health system

Teenagers across the nation are navigating a mental health crisis so significant, that in 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and other organizations, declared a state of emergency in adolescent mental health nationwide.
In New York, staffing shortages and long waitlists for city and state services exacerbate that crisis.
Now, a coalition of mental health advocacy organizations says, based on a new study, Governor Kathy Hochul must invest almost $200,000,000 in kids' and teens' behavioral health services to help solve the problem locally.
Alice Bufkin is the policy director for child and adolescent health at the Campaign For Healthy Minds and Healthy Kids, the group behind that study.
Mashrafi Anwar is a student at NYU and a leader at the Youth and Caregiver Council. They both joined WNYC's Tiffany Hansen to discuss the challenges facing the state behavioral health system.