The Radio Show Taking on California’s Youth Mental Health Crisis
At the 30-minute mark of her weekly radio show, Kennia Camacho strings together a list of events that are triggering her anxiety and stress. The teenage daughter of an immigrant made clear in a late January broadcast that the president’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, the tech billionaires front-and-center at the inauguration and talk of dismantling the United States Department of Education have made her feel terrified and confused. She feels powerless to prevent the possible deportation of family, shocked by the ease of TikTok’s disabling — and then its sudden return — and unsure if she will continue to receive financial aid to attend college. Sharing her feelings and those of others has become the hallmark of her show, Crisis Communicator.
The same year Crisis Communicator debuted, a survey and report on youth mental health was commissioned by the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, a one-time $4.6 billion investment to improve mental health services for young Californians. Youth at the Center is based on interviews conducted at nearly 50 meetings across the state.