Mental Health America states, one in five U.S. citizens is diagnosed with a mental Health condition, including Anxiety, addiction, Depression, and substance disorder. Children are dramatically affected by what happens in the home. Today, 2.2 million youth have a substance abuse issue, and 4.8 million of our youth ages 12 to 17 have major depression.

Statistics do not tell us what happens in a child’s home. We should not be surprised that youth suicide is now the second leading cause of death, and approximately 2 million adolescents attempt suicide each year. (Children’s Hospital Association)

I grew up in a dysfunctional home with an older brother and a sister. My sister and I were not the target of my alcoholic father’s anger. My brother was in the eye of the storm. As a result, he ran away from home at age 16 and lived a self-destructive life of inner turmoil. He had the potential to be a great musician, but he struggled, married five times, and died too young. 

My story has become all too common. Almost half a million children are removed by Child Protective Services (CPS) each year. We must focus on strengthening the Family instead of taking children away from their parents. If my father had been confronted by a trained professional about his destructive behavior, he might have made an effort to change and get help. He had no support system or helpful friends. Instead, my parents divorced, and a new man moved into our home, which was much more difficult for me and my sister. My brother never returned home, and I didn’t see him again until I was married. 

We must focus on strengthening families! 

Let’s start a discussion about family support. Many Americans have forgotten what made America great! It is not up to politicians to make the American dream come true. It is also up to families to create positive change. Here are two ways we can help strengthen families. 

       1. There are 350,000 churches and 7,000 synagogues in America, and they need to speak up about the power of forgiveness and the incredible power of the human spirit. Every living person is a spiritual being with a self-protective conscience. We can listen to our conscience or shut it down with anger, hate, and revenge. We see the anger on our streets and at universities as young people express hate for the Jews. We see hate boil over as people fight police and each other on our streets. We see individuals full of revenge engage in mass shootings, kill a CEO or walk into a building and kill strangers. We hear about child sex trafficking and people destroying lives. These individuals are spiritual casualties lacking self-awareness who often become self-destructive and don’t know there are always consequences of evil actions. It is time for people of faith to speak up about the power of God, or we will continue to go down this self-destructive path. 

        2. City leaders need to promote community unity and focus on bringing people together in neighborhoods. Social isolation has taken a toll on families, especially children. We all need neighborhood and community support to reduce anxiety, social isolation and fear.  Everyone needs to feel supported, and to help put a check and balance on youthful behavior. Cities may not need more police but more engagement of citizens to help protect their own neighborhoods. We see how supportive Americans can be when there is a crisis like a hurricane or flood. To reduce fear and isolation, city leaders need to hire and train citizens to be “Neighborhood Safety Experts” who look like and speak the language of the community to bring people together in their neighborhoods. To ignore the power of neighborhood unity is to put youth in peril. Involved neighbors can reduce youth from joining gangs if cities increase support for the family.

It is time for creative people to develop new ideas for their communities to sing and dance together and have fun with their families. Families need a reason to get away from TVs, computers, and cell phones. We the people can help create strong, resilient cities and communities. When we focus on strengthening our families, we will see crime, drugs, gangs, and violence decrease as children’s school grades increase. The mental and physical health of the community will improve and businesses will flourish. Everyone will be happier, healthier, and safer as cities and communities prosper. 

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Originally Published on https://safekidsnow.com/

Stephanie Mann Author, Crime and Violence Prevention Consultant

Author, Crime and Violence Prevention Consultant – 40 years

Founder/ExecDirector: Safe Kids Now – National Network to strengthen families, neighborhoods, and communities.

Author: 5 Prevention books on home, neighborhood, and city-wide safety.

Stephanie Authored "Alternatives to Fear: Guidelines to Safer Neighborhoods," which helped launch the National "Neighborhood Watch" program.

"Safe Homes Safe Neighborhoods: Stopping Crime Where You Live"
"The Adopt-a-Block Guidebook, "My first steps to a safe neighborhood," and "A Safe Neighborhoods Program Binder for City Leaders"

Latest books, "Empowerment Parenting: How to raise resilient children who become happy, self-reliant adults," empowers parents to help children develop the 3C's: Courage, Character, and a self-protective Conscience so they make good choices for their future. New book soon, "Magical YOU: Empowering Teens to Stay Safe and Healthy in an Unsafe World."

Hosted a national and international TV/Radio program from NY, "The Safe Kids Now Show," on aaumedia.com -

For more information, www.safekidsnow.com.