PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A local organization is holding a Parenting and Mental Health event aimed at helping parents support their children through mental health challenges they may face.
The free event held by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Washington County will feature guest speakers from parents to young adults and councilors who will provide tools for parents to talk to their kids about mental health, said Cassidy Quinn of NAMI Washington County.
One of the speakers includes Portland State University Sophomore Abby Matousek who says her parents supported her on her mental health journey as she dealt with panic attacks, depression and anxiety.
“If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have made it — especially to college,” Matousek said of her parents.
The event comes after a Pew Research Center survey, published in January 2023, found that mental health was a top concern for parents.
With combined factors such as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing youth mental health crisis, “four-in-ten U.S. parents with children younger than 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point,” according to the Pew Research Center.
“We hope that it’s a safe and comforting space for parents because like that study, we know that if you are a parent worried about your kid, who might already be struggling with a mental health condition or you’re worried that they will at some point in their life because so many of us do, you are not alone and that’s really the message that we want to get across,” Quinn said.
The Parenting and Mental Health event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Sherwood School District Office Multipurpose Room.