THE PROBLEM

Children in Chesterfield County are suffering: 20,000 children experience mental, emotional, or behavioral problems – that’s one in four. Experts report a 10-year increase in youth mental health challenges, made worse by the pandemic. In our house meetings, parents and grandparents shared stories about experiencing great difficulty trying to get care for these suffering children.

Last school year, Chesterfield County started a telehealth program through Hazel Health. Any student in grades six through twelve can have up to 10 telehealth appointments, free of charge. This will help greatly, but more is needed. In particular, families need help finding care. On average, it takes 60 calls (and weeks, sometimes months) to get an appointment with a mental health professional.

OUR SOLUTION

RISC research found there are mental health navigational tools that significantly reduce the burden on families seeking care; one program boasts a 2-day wait time to schedule an appointment and an 11-day wait time until the appointment occurs. 

WHERE WE ARE

At our 2026 Action, we asked Supervisor Jessica Schneider of the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors to partner with us to bring a mental health navigational tool to our community, so that families in Chesterfield can get quicker access to the quality mental health care they need.

She said "Yes," and we look forward to this continued partnership.