{"url": "https://zh.localwiki.org/api/v4/pages_history/1444141/", "name": "Mental Health of Students", "slug": "mental health of students", "content": "
\n\tWhat do you know about Mental Health of Students in Normal IL?
\n\n\tWhether you're reading an article, scrolling through social media, viewing media clips, or watching the news, mental health is making headlines. You hear often that living in the Bloomington/Normal area is like living in a bubble, so we wanted to dive deeper to see if Mclean County is being impacted.\u00a0 And if it is, in what ways is it manifesting itself, how can we spread awareness and what can be done to help.
\n\n\tLet's address the first question; is this an issue in McLean County?\u00a0 According to the McLean County Community Health Council, \u201cthe county\u2019s biggest health concerns are access to appropriate health care; behavioral health, including mental health and substance abuse\u201d.\u00a0 That statement packs a punch, so let's unpack it and see what we can learn. The first thing they call out is access to appropriate health care as a concern.\u00a0 Does this mean that there are not enough available providers, or there is a financial reason for not having access to health care, or both?\u00a0 From my research, I have found that it's both.\u00a0 There is a real strain on the limited number of providers who are licensed to work with youth under a certain age.\u00a0 There is also a financial element that can impact a person's ability to access appropriate health care.\u00a0 In the case of McLean County, specialized care isn't necessarily nearby.\u00a0 Specialists can be located in Peoria, Champaign, or as far away as Chicago.\u00a0 Propinquity alone could be the deciding factor for someone receiving or not receiving the help they need.
\n\n\tSo how do we address inadequate access to health care?\u00a0 Thankfully we live in the information age and have options we've never had before.\u00a0
\n\n\tThe next item from the statement that I would like to focus on is substance abuse.\u00a0 Is substance abuse a character flaw or is it something more?\u00a0 When access to health care and in turn appropriate medications, those who suffer can be drawn to ease their suffering with illegal substances.\u00a0 Unfortunately, illegal substances aren't hard to find and don't require a prescription to obtain. Once the body becomes dependent, it becomes another struggle the person has to overcome.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\n\tIt is proven that we have an issue here, but what makes this a crisis?\u00a0 How are members of our youth struggling?\u00a0
\n\n\tThese are just a few ways in which our youth struggling with mental health issues.\u00a0
\n\n\tWhat can we do?\u00a0 How do we raise awareness?\u00a0 How can we be the voice of change?\u00a0
\n", "region": "https://zh.localwiki.org/api/v4/regions/2716/", "history_comment": "Renamed from \"Mental Health of Students in Normal IL\"", "history_date": "2022-11-01T09:42:02.256", "history_type": 0, "history_user": "https://zh.localwiki.org/api/v4/users/117635/", "history_user_ip": "2607:fb90:a124:408a:19c7:9df9:61d:ce86"}