BY KAREN BOSSICK

When school counselor Tod Gunter took part in panel discussions on mental illness and health in the early 2000s there were more people on the panel than in the audience.

Today he’s seeing more support in the community for talking about mental illness, as the stigma is slowly eroding.

“Many of those who live here come from other places where there’s a lot of support in the mental health field. We don’t have the population base for that so we’re trying to be creative. I’ve very hopeful for what we can do, not just at the kid level but the adult level,” he added.

Gunter was one of five community members who took part in a panel discussion on youth mental health recently organized by the Wood River Women’s Foundation as part of its annual State of the Valley discussion.

The panel included Gunter, two high school students and two representatives associated with St. Luke’s Wood River.

Gunter said there are currently 22 mental health professionals in the schools, and there are resources for private schools like Sage School. School leaders seem to be moving from authoritarian stance to collaborative one, he added.

“When I moved here there was a lot of fingerpointing,” Gunter said.

Moxxie Tellez, a sophomore at the Sun Valley Community School and an ETC intern, recounted a case where illegal drugs were found in the girl’s restroom. The high school head called an assembly. But, rather than insist that the person who left those drugs reveal themselves so they could be suspended or expelled, he told the students, “We care about you. We want to help. Come to us and we’ll help you,” Tellez said.

Moderator Tyler Norris noted that one of the things the Blaine County Mental Well-Being initiative is considering is a youth center in Hailey to create a way for teens to have a sense of belonging and make connections in unstructured ways.

“We have a lot of resources and opportunities but we’re narrowly focused. Not every kid wants to be on the ski team so it’s nice to have place where they can belong,” said Gunter.

A teen center would be helpful for those who don’t want to go home, said Callie Allen, a junior at Wood River High School. And it would be helpful to bring teens together.

“Going to high school it’s easy to feel like an outcast or that you’re not accepted,” she said. “There’s a lot of pressure so it’s important to check in on your friends. It’s important to be there for everyone who might be going through anxiety or depression.”

There should be more resources for those with eating disorders, she added.

Moxxie Tellez was glad to learn of the Blaine County Mental Well-Being Initiative and its consideration of a youth center: “It makes me happy to learn our community is taking a step in the right direction. We all live so far apart—one of my friends lives an hour away. So, it would be cool to have one place to hang out with one another even if it’s just for an hour.”

Tellez has lost three friends to suicide: “When we see those who seem depressed, we need to ask: ‘Do you want to talk? I can help or I can just listen,’ ”.

The Advocates teach youth about unhealthy relationships, which can lead to mental health problems and other problems, Tellez reminded the audience. And they teach about how to build and maintain health relationships.

St. Luke’s Wood River is trying to bridge language barriers by providing a Spanish-speaking therapy clinic, said Megan Tanous, executive director of St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation.

Tanous added that the valley will receive more psychiatric help in July. It is trying to provide education for first responders so they can respond to anxiety attacks, as well as heart attacks. And stabilization beds will provide a place for those having mental health crises so they don’t need to be incarcerated.

One of the subgroups within the Blaine County Mental Well-Being Initiative has been examining digital awareness—it had a workshop for youth and their parents recently.

Sarah Seppa, who heads up St. Luke’s Center for Community Health, reiterated that the group has been working with a group from Boise State University that bases much of its work on the Icelandic Prevention Model.

The model grew out of an effort to address drug use among young people that was a growing problem in Icelandic society in the 1990s. Trying to educate young people about the dangers of drug use didn’t seem to work. And, so, in 1997, a group of social scientists, policy makers, young people and people working with youth mapped out social factors that influenced youth drug use and mobilized the community to offer organized leisure activities and more support for youth.

Drug and alcohol use among young people has declined substantially since, said Seppa.

Asked what community members can do now for youth, Gunter replied, “Ask for help and be a helper. Ask a young person to mow your lawn or wash your dog as an act of connection. Volunteer as a Girls on the Run coach.”

“Say, ‘Hi. How are you?’ ” said Tellez. “You don’t know how meaningful a little small talk or simple gesture can be.”