Public health and community leaders from across the Monadnock region painted a picture of the state of mental health among today’s youth and adults and spoke positively about local initiatives enabling recovery during a Wednesday morning event at All Saints’ Church in Peterborough.

The event was organized by the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, in partnership with the Friends of the Cheshire County Recovery Court and Monadnock Family Services. Speakers included Phil Wyzik, president and CEO of Monadnock Family Services; Tim Weeks, a public speaker and mental health advocate;  John Broderick, a retired state Supreme Court chief justice; and Tina Nadeau, a  retired chief justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court.

Todd Horner, programs chair of the Greater Monadnock Collaborative, said mental health is an public health issue that affects employers, schools and government, as well as individuals and families. Horner is also executive director of the Keene-based Southwest Regional Planning Committee.

Nadeau, who is nationally recognized for her work implementing recovery courts, which assist people in the judicial system who are struggling with addiction, noted that people who work with a recovery court have a significantly lower recidivism rate.

Wyzik said smartphones and screen addiction are the No. 1 driver for mental health issues in children and youth. 

“The surgeon general has said that mental health is defining public health issue of our time. Giving a child a smartphone is like giving them a pack of cigarettes or a beer in terms of the harm it is going to do them,” Wyzik said. “Social media companies are purposely designing their platforms to be addictive, and children are on them four to eight hours a day. It is changing the way children’s brains develop.”

Wyzik said the most-harmful effects of screen addiction on mental health are social deprivation, sleep deprivation and attention deprivation. 

“The good news is, people are focusing on mental health this now. Years ago, we would not have been talking about this issue, ” Wyzik said.

Wyzik shared information from Trauma Responsive Monadnock, a new initiative fostering collaboration between 33 Monadnock region towns, which is the first of its kind in New Hampshire. Information is available at traumaresponsivemonadnock.org.