NKY is coming together to take care of its young people. Here’s how you can join.

Mental health is such a hard thing to talk about.

It’s even harder to talk about when it’s our kids: When they’re not OK, we, the adults, are supposed to have the answers.

But the fact is, many times, we don’t. We don’t know what to say, let alone what to do, when multiple deaths by suicide are reported in close succession at one school district. We don’t know how to respond when there is a 35% increase in diagnosed mental health conditions among teens in the last seven years.

One of the ways we tackle these kinds of complex issues here at LINK is to try to bring the community together to talk about it.

Who are the people in our community who have found creative solutions to our youth mental health crisis? What has worked? What hasn’t? What are the barriers that still exist, and what are the ways around those barriers that Northern Kentuckians have found?

If you go:

What: Community Conversation about youth mental health

Where: 410 Kenton Lands Road in Erlanger

When: Thursday, April 17 from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free, but please RSVP here

We call these gatherings our Community Conversations. We meet every other month at the Erlanger branch of the Kenton County Public Library to hear from the people who are finding innovative solutions to the challenges we face as a region. Panelists have a conversation with moderator and local media personality Evan Millward, and audience members are invited to participate in real time by asking questions online.

Past Community Conversation events have been about the controversial Amendment 2, which would have allowed lawmakers to pave the way for school vouchers in Kentucky; and how to get more involved in Northern Kentucky.

At April’s event, in addition to speakers, more than a half-dozen organizations from around Northern Kentucky who help young people with their mental health challenges will be on hand to answer questions and provide resources to parents, educators and anyone who is interested.

The event is free, but we ask that you RSVP here so we can make sure we have enough seats. If you can’t make it in person but still want to participate in the conversation, watch live on our Facebook page.

Click here to read more about the things people across Northern Kentucky are doing to tackle this very nuanced issue.

Meet the Community Conversation panelists:

Scroll down to meet the panelists lined up to talk at our April Community Conversation event on youth mental health.

Brittanie Apke is a social worker at St. Elizabeth Physicians. She is a licensed clinical social worker and has been in the field of social work for 15 years.

For the last five years, Apke has been working with St. Elizabeth Physicians, specifically with Florence Pediatrics as a therapist for children and adolescents.

Apke has lived in the Northern Kentucky area her entire life, but she has called Florence home for the last 15 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Morehead State University and a master’s of science in social work from the University of Louisville.

Crystal Leugers is a licensed clinical social worker the chief programming officer at CNHK Behavioral Health.

Leugers began working as a therapist at CHNK in January 2013 after receiving her bachelor’s in social work at Xavier University and her master’s in social work from the University of Cincinnati.

She started her professional career at Women’s Crisis Center, providing crisis counseling and safety planning to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. While there, she also began working at Family Nurturing Center, where she remained for seven years as a domestic violence group facilitator.  

Millie Mcglone is a student at Newport Central Catholic and youth ambassador for Hopeful Empowered Youth, known as HEY!

HEY! is a coalition of community groups, healthcare providers, educators, policymakers, families and young people themselves who work to collaboratively create a community that supports the wellbeing of all young people, especially those facing the greatest barriers and disparities.

Mcglone is passionate about mental health and helping other people. She enjoys science classes and playing softball.

Ross Meyer is the vice president of strategy at Interact for Health.

Meyer previously served as interim president and CEO of United Way of Greater Cincinnati, leading the agency through a critical period of significant change. Ross also served as senior vice president and chief impact officer of United Way. He previously served as executive director of Partners for a Competitive Workforce.

Meyer earned a bachelor of philosophy in interdisciplinary studies from Miami University and a master of public administration from New York University. 

A native Cincinnatian, Ross lives in Clifton with his wife and their three sons.