Detroit and Flint teens struggle with mental health – and worried adults around them feel ‘helpless’

Researchers from Michigan State, Wayne State and the University of Michigan ran focus groups with school personnel in Detroit and community advisory meetings in Flint, finding teens shouldering economic hardship, housing instability and family stress alongside depression, anxiety and exhaustion. National CDC data cited in the study found nearly 4 in 10 high schoolers reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2023, with 1 in 5 having seriously considered suicide.

LGBTQ+ teens were found two to three times more likely to report these struggles than heterosexual, cisgender peers, while young women reported roughly double the rate of persistent sadness compared to young men. In Flint, six shootings in a single August weekend, two fatal and one victim a teenage boy, underscored community concerns about youth gun violence.

Educators described feeling responsible for student wellbeing without adequate training or resources, and researchers note that educator burnout is itself linked to worse student outcomes. The piece calls for building interventions with direct input from teens, parents and communities rather than designing programs around them.

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