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YourMomCares about how you feel · 20-Minute Health Talk

0:04
Sharon Feldstein: If you have a diagnosis of
0:06
cancer and you wait to
0:07
stage 4, well,
0:09
then it's much more serious than
0:11
if you got it at stage 1.
0:12
And what you guys are doing in
0:13
the schools are the same thing.
0:15
It's the stage 1 for
0:16
mental health,
0:17
because if you can stop anxiety
0:19
from becoming depression,
0:20
depression from suicidal
0:22
ideation,
0:23
that stops the progression of
0:25
of, maybe it becoming deadly.
0:31
Sandra Lindsay (Host): That was Sharon Feldstein,
0:34
co-founder and CEO of
0:36
YourMomCares,
0:38
a nonprofit on a mission to
0:40
create and fund innovative
0:42
programs and solutions that
0:45
improve mental health and
0:47
wellness in children.
0:49
Like Sharon.
0:50
Its large network of founders
0:53
are the moms of actors,
0:56
athletes, and musicians.
0:58
And Sharon says it all started
1:01
with a simple tagline that every
1:04
mom can relate to.
1:06
Sharon: We nag you because we love you. Your mom cares.
1:09
Sandra: In 2014, she was invited by the White
1:12
House to participate in a public
1:15
service announcement for the Affordable Care Act.
1:19
Not only happy to take part,
1:21
she offered to bring her longtime friend Patsy Noah.
1:26
Another mom, Teria Joseph was also interviewed,
1:31
and the three would go on to
1:33
co-found YourMomCares,
1:36
a name inspired by that same PSA.
1:39
Sharon: We were lucky enough to have
1:41
Michelle Obama end our PSA with
1:44
we nag you because we love you.
1:46
Your mom cares.
1:48
And I'm a branding person,
1:50
and I'm like,
1:51
that's a great brand.
1:52
That's like Mothers Against
1:53
Drunk Driving.
1:54
It's very self explanatory.
1:56
And I asked the White House if
1:59
we could trademark the brand,
2:01
and I promised them we would
2:03
do something for children.
2:04
And in 2018,
2:06
we decided to focus on
2:07
kids mental health.
2:11
Sandra: You've been able to rally a long
2:13
list of Power Moms to support
2:17
your initiatives and mission.
2:19
How were you able to get their support?
2:22
Sharon: Nobody says no to Robin.
2:26
Sandra: Sharon is referring to Robin Paul.
2:29
She's one of the nonprofit's "power moms."
2:33
Robin: When they asked me to come join, first of all,
2:35
I told her I'd think about it, but I didn't have to think long.
2:38
It was really a shoe in for me when they said that we were
2:41
going to be focusing on mental
2:42
health because I see it in everyday life.
2:46
Sandra: They also have expert moms who
2:49
are clinicians, funders, policymakers,
2:53
and academics in the field of
2:56
children's mental health or related fields like. Nutrition,
3:01
But power moms use their power and
3:05
influence to advocate for the
3:08
Your Mom Cares mission to help save kids'lives.
3:13
They also include Joan Kimmel, Donna Jordan,
3:18
and a long list of others.
3:20
Robin: Our goal is to have like-minded
3:23
moms. That's important to us.
3:26
So you start talking about
3:28
some of our initiatives,
3:30
some of the things we've
3:31
done in the past,
3:32
some of the things we're looking
3:33
forward to doing.
3:34
Who can say no? Seriously,
3:35
but not only to me.
3:37
But I mean,
3:37
it's serious because it's
3:39
important to rally yourself
3:40
around like minded moms.
3:43
That's very important for us.
3:45
I do a lot of things
3:46
in the community,
3:47
and all of them have something
3:49
to do with children.
3:51
I'm all about the kids.
3:52
I am all about the kids.
3:54
And mental health to
3:56
me is so real.
3:58
We're seeing it even more today.
4:00
Sandra: Today, 1 in 5 Americans are
4:04
seeking mental health services.
4:06
Even more alarming is the rising
4:09
suicide rate for school-age kids,
4:11
which the CDC reported has surged by more than 50%
4:17
since the year 2000.
4:20
The sad reality is that there are not enough therapists or
4:24
mental health providers of any kind to meet the need,
4:29
a problem that organizations
4:31
like Your Mom Cares and Northwell Health are working
4:35
hard to address.
4:37
And now they're working together.
4:46
Hello, and welcome to 20 Minutes Health
4:50
Talk. I'm Sandra Lindsay.
4:52
This is part 2 of our series on child suicide prevention.
4:57
In our last episode,
4:59
we spoke with child psychiatrist Dr. Vera Feuer,
5:03
who is leading Northwell's push
5:05
to ramp up mental health services for kids in Cris.
5:10
Our guests today, Sharon and Robin,
5:13
are using their resources
5:15
through Your Mom Cares to try to propel those efforts.
5:25
Since 2018, Your Mom Cares has worked with
5:29
organizations like the Children's Health Fund,
5:33
which offers many standout mental wellness and social
5:38
service support programs.
5:40
A particular point of pride for Sharon and Robin is their work
5:45
with the Children's Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh
5:49
Medical Center (UPMC).
5:52
Sharon: So, it's a digital behavioral tool,
5:54
a fancy word for an app.
5:56
It's attached to social workers.
5:57
It's for anxiety and depression,
5:59
and then they kind of weed out the kids that
6:02
are doing okay. But if somebody is severely
6:06
like a red flag, then they send them
6:07
to a psychiatrist.
6:09
So that saves the psychiatrist
6:10
seeing 300 kids when they really
6:13
only need to see three, and there's only one
6:15
psychiatrist,
6:16
and it's pediatrician-prescribed.
6:19
Robin: It's like you have this app like you have on your phone.
6:22
If you have some issues you can get on the app.
6:25
We have somebody online to help you. I mean,
6:28
most people have their phones with them. 24/7.
6:31
How much easier does that get?
6:33
Sharon: It's a very unique behavioral
6:36
tool that we have 100% funded,
6:40
and phase one has shown
6:41
incredible results 70% reduction
6:43
in anxiety, 60% in depression.
6:46
Phase two, we're focusing on suicidal ideation. It's
6:51
in the trial stages.
6:52
So it's in San Diego. Boston children's.
6:55
Harvard in Boston and UPMC.
6:59
We always say a very wealthy
7:01
person can give a huge sum of money to something,
7:04
but we take smaller amounts and
7:07
take a little bit of a risk. But, like with, you know,
7:11
the third best children's
7:11
hospital, I think,
7:12
in the country,
7:13
it's not that big a risk,
7:14
but we give it to something that
7:16
no one else wants to fund,
7:17
and then we try to give
7:18
it our voice.
7:19
Sandra: And the power of their
7:21
collective voice,
7:22
sharon likes to say,
7:24
turns their support
7:25
into a megaphone.
7:27
Sharon: We're doing it because
7:29
we want to help kids.
7:30
Every mom in our group loves
7:32
kids. We love our kids,
7:34
we love our grandchildren,
7:35
and we love your kids.
7:37
Sandra: And that passion is deeply
7:39
rooted for Sharon and Robin.
7:41
Robin: I think it started
7:42
with my parents. My parents were always givers.
7:45
I mean, the church that we attended,
7:48
we gave, and we just continued to give.
7:52
Our family believes too much
7:54
is given, much is required.
7:56
So we can't be blessed if we
7:58
walk around with tight fists.
8:00
So we're always trying to give.
8:03
Sandra: For Sharon,
8:04
it was her experience sitting
8:06
on the board of a charity,
8:08
Sharon: The Neil Bogart Fund,
8:10
which was also TJ Martel it's
8:12
for pediatric cancer and AIDS.
8:14
And I was on the board when I
8:15
was like 25 years old as one of
8:17
the few women on the board.
8:19
And my passion for children
8:21
really started with working
8:23
directly with kids with cancer.
8:25
I threw all the parties.
8:27
I did like the little Make-a-Wishes that people wanted so and
8:30
so to go to the hospital
8:31
to visit their child.
8:33
And the bravery of these
8:34
children and these families and
8:37
know day to day directly with
8:39
these kids and child life,
8:40
they're heroes
8:42
Sandra: Now her work with your mom cares
8:44
allows Sharon and all the moms
8:47
to give back in a big way
8:56
After being connected with
8:58
Northwell Health
8:59
Your Mom Cares learned about
9:02
their school partnership programs,
9:04
which has given kids in crisis an alternative to going to
9:08
the emergency department.
9:10
I just can't bear the thought of
9:12
a child who's suffering so much
9:15
having to sit in those adult
9:18
emergency rooms where you don't get seen for hours.
9:21
One family told us they were
9:22
there for twelve or 15 hours
9:25
and then sent home.
9:26
So that breaks my heart.
9:29
Sandra: The situation Sharon just talked
9:31
about is one that, tragically,
9:34
many families can relate to.
9:37
With an average wait of six to 8 hours,
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these extended stays in an
9:43
emergency department for kids
9:45
experiencing a behavioral health crisis can be harmful
9:51
and costly.
9:53
And the alternative?
9:55
An eight week wait, on average,
9:58
for an appointment with a mental
10:00
health provider. This is why Dr. Feuer, again,
10:05
that's the psychiatrist we spoke
10:07
with in part 1 of this series
10:09
has partnered with New York
10:11
school districts to create
10:13
Northwell's Behavioral
10:15
Health Centers.
10:16
Staffed by child psychiatrists
10:19
and mental health counselors,
10:21
they offer a game changing
10:24
option for kids who are seen
10:26
within 48 hours and,
10:28
importantly,
10:30
can avoid the emergency room.
10:32
Sharon: That is what impressed
10:33
me the most.
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It was like child life for kids'
10:36
mental health.
10:37
So it was like a welcoming room
10:39
that was like pretty with books. That was calming,
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that was not like an emergency room.
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So you take an already anxious
10:47
or depressed child and you put them in a kinder,
10:50
more gentle environment.
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That's what impressed me the most
10:53
Sandra: Since 2020,
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Northwell has launched three of
10:58
these behavioral health centers,
11:00
which serve 32 school districts
11:04
throughout Long Island.
11:05
That translates to 334 schools
11:10
and more than 200,000 students.
11:14
And thousands have already taken
11:16
advantage of this innovative service,
11:19
which offers psychiatric assessments,
11:22
short term crisis treatment, and help connecting students to
11:27
mental health providers closer
11:29
to home. Most importantly,
11:32
it's keeping kids behavioral
11:34
health care out of the
11:36
emergency room.
11:38
Just one year after opening its first center,
11:42
school clinicians reported 60%
11:45
of students referred to these
11:47
centers would have previously been sent to the ER.
11:51
And the benefits also extend to
11:54
the families and community.
11:56
Sharon: You're building the centers,
11:58
which is a big step.
12:01
Robin and I and all the moms
12:02
have applauded you because yay,
12:05
because it's a wonderful thing
12:06
you're doing. And together,
12:07
I think we can create some
12:09
awareness and maybe help some
12:10
adults understand the warning signs,
12:13
what they can do if they see them.
12:15
Sandra: That point is key.
12:17
And these behavioral health
12:19
centers also include help for
12:22
parents to navigate insurance
12:25
coverage and provide
12:27
professional development for
12:29
school staff and community
12:31
education for parents.
12:33
The three existing centers are
12:36
all located on Long Island.
12:38
The first opened in 2020
12:41
in Rockville Center,
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the second in 2021 in Mineola,
12:47
and the third in 2022 in Comac.
12:51
Now Northwell hopes to
12:53
expand even further,
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and that's where Your
12:57
Mom Cares comes in.
12:59
Sharon: When we first met with
13:01
Northwell Health,
13:02
it was like if we dreamed up a
13:04
partner for brick and mortar
13:06
places to take children. Like,
13:09
when we told Robin about it,
13:10
remember, Rob, what you said?
13:11
We were almost crying.
13:12
We were almost we're so happy.
13:15
Robin: But when they explained it
13:16
to me and they said,
13:17
you have the facility.
13:18
You have all the activities and
13:20
infrastructure, I was like,
13:23
this is amazing. I mean,
13:25
this needs to be worldwide
13:28
Sharon: You're doing,
13:29
and you have the finances,
13:31
and you have the infrastructure
13:33
to do what we dream. So thank you.
13:36
Sandra: And we have the people and the
13:38
culture. This is what we do.
13:41
Robin: I love that.
13:42
Sharon: And hopefully what
13:44
we were told was,
13:45
it's a model that could maybe be
13:47
replicated in all parts
13:48
of the country, like,
13:49
Robin lives in North Carolina.
13:51
It would be wonderful to kind of
13:53
have this become contagious
13:55
and spread it all over.
13:57
Sandra: And it's programs like these
13:59
that the teams at both Northwell
14:02
Health and YourMomCares
14:04
believe can prevent suffering
14:06
and loss of life. It's like,
14:09
if you have a diagnosis of
14:10
cancer and you wait to stage 4, well,
14:13
then it's much more serious than
14:15
if you got it at stage 1.
14:17
And what you guys are doing in
14:18
the schools are the same thing.
14:20
It's the stage 1 for mental health,
14:22
because if you can stop anxiety
14:24
from becoming depression,
14:25
depression from suicidal ideation,
14:27
that stops the progression of
14:30
maybe it becoming deadly.
14:32
It's the easiest way for
14:33
people to understand,
14:34
because they don't look at mental health like that.
14:36
They don't look at mental health like health.
14:40
There's still a stigma.
14:42
Sandra: One of the core philosophies
14:44
guiding YourMomCares is
14:47
changing the dialogue from
14:49
"mental illness to mental wellness."
14:52
And through its many efforts,
14:55
they're helping organizations like Northwell, UPMC
14:59
and the Children's Health Fund
15:03
drive innovative solutions that
15:06
are making a real difference.
15:08
Sharon: I'm proud of what we've done,
15:09
and I'm proud to have done it with the moms,
15:12
these particular moms, like Robin,
15:14
who's become one of my closest
15:15
friends. I'm proud of all of us.
15:18
Robin: I'm just so excited about
15:20
the work we're doing. We just got to keep going and
15:22
keep going strong, and that all.
15:24
Sandra: That also includes working with brands,
15:28
individuals, and even kids who reach out
15:31
to them, wanting to help.
15:34
Sharon: This is my favorite.
15:36
We have kids who care.
15:37
Kids throughout the country start little groups,
15:39
and they found us on their own,
15:41
and their moms call us, and we work with the
15:43
moms and the kids, and they give a little
15:46
percentage to your mom cares,
15:47
and they do little gatherings.
15:49
Once we got to go to an after school program,
15:52
that was really nice.
15:53
We have brands who care that
15:55
we really depend on,
15:56
especially during the pandemic.
15:57
And the brands who care are
15:59
brands that we like, that we respect, that like us.
16:03
Robin: We have several brand partnerships.
16:06
Max Mara, Polka Dot England, quilted koala, dana's
16:13
Bakery. Dana's Bakery. Lingua Franca
16:14
Sandra: And Sharon points
16:17
out, like the kids who care,
16:20
anyone can pitch in for this
16:22
extremely important cause.
16:25
Sharon: They can donate money
16:26
to YourMomCares,
16:27
and they can donate money to
16:29
Northwell. And honestly, for us, in particular,
16:33
if they have an expertise that
16:35
they would like to share with us
16:37
that could help us in any way,
16:40
we would love it. This is an inclusive organization,
16:44
and anybody that wants to help
16:47
us in any way that they can, we gladly accept.
16:51
Robin: We're not specialists in this
16:53
field as well. So their ideas, they can DM us.
16:56
They can email us with, "Can I set up a meeting
17:00
with you all to talk? I have an idea that might help."
17:04
So not only monetary gifts,
17:07
but ideas would be greatly
17:09
appreciated as well.
17:18
Sandra: I want to thank Sharon Feldstein
17:20
and Robin Paul for joining me to
17:23
share their stories and for
17:25
their work to create and support
17:28
innovative programs and the
17:30
people behind them as we work to
17:33
improve the care we deliver to
17:35
those living with mental health
17:37
conditions as well as improve access.
17:42
This has been part 2 of our series on child suicide
17:47
prevention. Next week,
17:49
we'll discuss mental health
17:52
among LGBTQ plus children children.
17:55
To help us break it all down,
17:57
we'll be speaking with Dr. David. Rosenthal,
18:01
the founding medical director
18:03
for Northwell Health's Center
18:05
for Transgender Care [as well as Helena Roderick, senior psychologist for Northwell Health’s Center for Transgender Care
18:08
Until then, I'm Sandra Lindsay,
18:11
and this has been another
18:12
edition of 20-Minute Health Talk.
18:21
Get more expert insight from
18:23
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18:24
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