Mercer Island highlights youth mental‑health gains while students push peer support pilot

Derek Franklin, administrator of Mercer Island Youth & Family Services, briefed the City Council on May 19 on local youth‑service programs and recent Washington State Healthy Youth Survey findings, and he introduced student leaders who proposed a peer support pilot.

Franklin said YFS provides low‑barrier outpatient counseling on a sliding fee scale and manages school‑based counselors and referrals to regional partners when specialized services are needed. "Our case management staff is one and a half people," he said, noting the department must rely on external agencies for some services. He also gave the YFS confidential voicemail line for the public: 20627576557, and advised residents to call 911 for immediate threats and 988 for acute mental‑health crises.

On substance use and other indicators, Franklin presented selected Healthy Youth Survey measures for grades 6–12 and contrasted local trends with state averages. He said some indicators have improved — while stressing "22% is still too high" for measures such as regular alcohol use in a given grade — and cautioned that timing (the 2025 survey fell near homecoming) can affect results for items such as binge drinking.

Student members of the city’s Youth Matters advisory group described a separate student survey and outreach plans. "It's a 2 out of 5 stars, unfortunately," said Alice Liang, a sophomore and Youth Matters member, summarizing student views of existing school mental‑health surveys. Liang told the council that about 65% of survey respondents had never used school resources and that two‑thirds of students said they prioritized academics over their well‑being. She said she is organizing a lunch‑hour peer support group and an online resource page to give students private, easy access to information.

Kieran Lancaster, a Mercer Island High School senior and Youth Matters participant, said the group aims to "bridge the gap between youth and adults" by using school media, parent‑conference outreach and targeted projects to raise awareness about binge drinking, hazing and help‑seeking.

Council members commended the youth presenters and staff. Franklin said YFS typically fields "3, 4, 5 calls a day" on the confidential voice‑mail line and maintains a variable wait list for outpatient counseling. He emphasized that YFS will continue prevention work and coordination with regional partners and the school district.

Next steps announced by staff included sharing more disaggregated school survey data from the district when available and supporting the Youth Matters pilot; Franklin and the students said they will follow up with council on outreach plans.