So many Billings-area teenagers who wrestle with mental illness are looking for a place to belong, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness is offering them refuge.
NAMI Billings has opened its doors to these teens offering reinforcement and support through a unique, bi-weekly support group. The youth who gather are attracted more by their hunger for social support than a need for emotional support, said Clementine Lindley, executive director of NAMI Billings.
“Kids come who don’t fit in in school,” Lindley said. “They are looking for someone socially who will understand they are different.”
Approximately 50 percent of students age 14 and older who are living with a mental illness drop out of high school, according to the Virginia-based NAMI. This is the highest dropout rate of any disability group.
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They come to play music or video games or even draw. The glue that binds the group is a feeling of trust.
“We want to let them know they are safe,” said Lindley.
Four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school and with peers, according to the Virginia-based National Alliance on Mental Illness. Of children ages 9 to 17, 21 percent have a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder that causes at least minimal impairment.
Half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders begin by age 14. Despite effective treatments, there are long delays, sometimes decades, between the first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment. An untreated mental disorder can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness and to the development of co-occurring mental illnesses.
In any given year, only 20 percent of children with mental disorders are identified and receive mental health services.
Lindley, who has led NAMI Billings since February 2013, is concerned that area youth who are not classified “high risk” or “high need” don’t have the proper outlets to deal with their illness.
“There are many youth who fall into that category who need help but don’t qualify for services,” Lindley said. “That’s where this support group can play a role. This is a viable component we want to maintain.”
Kale Joyce, a licensed addictions counselor and NAMI Billings board member, currently leads the support group. The group is designed to offer a forum where youth are able to gain support, but also give them an opportunity to be speaking directly with community professionals who understand mental illness.
“Our children are vulnerable to feeling alone and misunderstood as they grow, change, and transition into adulthood,” Joyce said. “Bullying, stigmatizing and isolating individuals displaying socially awkward behavior sends messages of intolerance and, when mental illness is a factor, the result can be tragic.”
The group is designed to create some common ground for youth dealing with mental health illness, offering a group setting to discuss serious problems when they are struggling. Also, they have a chance for social involvement and activity focused on recreation, and gaining support from each other.
“Mostly, we are hoping to be consistently checking in with the youth in the community and make sure they understand mental illness better and know that they are not alone,” Joyce said.
NAMI Billings provides support, education and advocacy for people with major mental illnesses and for their families and friends. Its mission is threefold: support, educate and advocate. It offers educational programs, support groups, personal advocacy, community information, a lending library and outreach programs for the larger Billings community. All programs are free to the public.
