Solving the Problem of Youth Suicide: Toward a World Worth Living In

Solving the Problem of Youth Suicide: Toward a World Worth Living In

Reposted from Free Youth Now with permission from the author. Youth mental health is a public health crisis. Reports have found that teen suicides are increasing at an alarming pace, outstripping all other age groups. Suicide death rates among young people have increased rapidly in the past decade – becoming the second-most common cause of death…

NYRA-Twin Cities: Going Strong!

NYRA-Twin Cities: Going Strong!

NYRA-Twin Cities has been in operation for several years now. Amy O’Connell, President, has been leading the group for almost half a decade. Amy’s passion for youth rights came from her own experience dealing with adults. She was largely bullied in middle school and found that adults made the problem worse. She became involved in…

The Incentive to Be Sick:  Why many young people play along with diagnosis culture

The Incentive to Be Sick: Why many young people play along with diagnosis culture

  In his book, Teen 2.0, psychologist Robert Epstein gives an account of the medical profession’s complicity in the movement to marginalize young people: “In short, my own colleagues have long played and continue to play a leading role in the maintenance of the artificial extension of childhood. They have pathologized socially induced behavior and…

Speak Out on Corporal Punishment

Speak Out on Corporal Punishment

Can’t attend the upcoming rally in Washington, DC against corporal punishment in our schools? You can still share your views. During the second day of the event, NYRA Executive Director Bill Bystricky will join other activists in reading comments submitted from across America. If you have a personal experience with corporal punishment in school, send…

NYRA’s Joint Statement Supporting HHS Birth Control Inclusion

NYRA’s Joint Statement Supporting HHS Birth Control Inclusion

Two months ago, NYRA petitioned against Obama’s Health and Human Services Agency discriminating against teenagers trying to get emergency contraceptives. It’s great to see the administration now taking a position for college students, at least, enjoying equal access to birth control. Beginning in 2013, most health plans will be required to cover contraceptives, including the…