Students and mental‑health groups press Senate for stronger youth behavioral‑health and suicide‑prevention funding

A group of high school students and nonprofit advocates told the Senate Health Committee that mental‑health and substance‑use stresses among young people require sustained investments in prevention, school supports and crisis services.

Several Meadowdale Career Technology Center students described bullying, depression, addiction and domestic violence, and asked lawmakers to fund mental‑health supports and alternatives to juvenile incarceration. Maya France described depression beginning in eighth grade and criticized the experience of involuntary care, while other students urged funding for correctional therapy and domestic‑violence hotlines.

Nancy Engelmiller, executive director of 1 in 5, urged the Senate to maintain funding in HB96 for school‑based suicide awareness training and prevention. “Investments in prevention matter. And the schools are on the front line of this urgent issue,” Engelmiller said, noting the group's work with more than 300 schools and a plan to expand into 70 new schools with stable funding.

Austin Lucas of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation called the governor’s behavioral‑health and suicide‑prevention proposal “life saving” and asked senators to fully fund both prevention programs and 988 crisis services. Lucas said 1,777 Ohioans died by suicide in 2023 and described demand on 988 (calls, chat and text) as roughly 19,000 contacts per month.

Why it matters: Advocates say early prevention and a robust crisis‑response network reduce ER visits and save lives. Witnesses called for both long‑term prevention investments in schools and immediate funding so 988 and crisis services can handle demand.

No committee votes were recorded on these funding requests during the hearing.