New Multi State Initiative Focuses on Youth Mental Health

The U.S. Surgeon General described the youth mental health crisis as the "defining public health issue of our time." In a 2021 government survey, more than 40 percent of high school students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless. With schools often on the frontline of the crisis, AmeriCorps is launching a first-of-its-kind initiative to give students the support they need. Correspondent Dina Demetrius has been reporting on youth mental health. She joins Soledad O'Brien in-studio to explain how the new program works and to give an update on a California school that’s providing mental health support to its rural community.