Evansville premiere of 'Racing to Respond' highlights youth mental health, suicide crisis

Content warning: This article contains discussions of suicide and self harm.

EVANSVILLE — Evansville on Tuesday will host the statewide premiere of "Racing to Respond," a documentary film produced by Riley Children's Health that aims to bolster awareness of Indiana's youth mental health crisis and efforts to combat it.

Gil Peri, president of Riley Children's Health, told the Courier & Press that 300 people had already reserved spots to attend the premiere, which will be at Bally's Riverfront Center in Downtown Evansville. Adults can register for a free ticket at rileykids.org

The event will commence with a 5 p.m. reception, during which Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch is expected to deliver remarks, then "Racing to Respond" will premiere at 6 p.m. The documentary follows two families' journeys through mental health crises, detailing the trauma and loss associated with suicide and the long path to recovery from depression and anxiety.

The film features interviews from Evansville locals, including Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, USI faculty and its president, Ron Roschon, and faculty from the University of Evansville.

After the screening, Indiana University child psychiatrist Dr. Julianne M. Giust, Winnecke and members of the Eugenio family − who appear in the film − will participate in a panel discussion.

"Racing to Respond's" premiere comes at a critical juncture: Death by suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among young Hoosiers, and mental health diagnoses in children are on the rise too, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021, the CDC reported that 1 in 5 students seriously contemplated attempting suicide. Indiana's youth suicide rate has topped the national average every year since 1999.

"The goal of the documentary is twofold," Peri said. "One is to make sure that the entire state understands the gravity of this youth mental health crisis. The second goal is to create a call to action to work together as a community to implement evidence-based interventions."

After the film's Evansville premiere, "Racing to Respond" will be shown in Bloomington, West Lafayette, Fort Wayne, South Bend and Indianapolis. But the film is just one component of a broader, statewide initiative.

Indiana faced with longterm increase in deaths by suicide among teens, young adults

Riley Children's Health, with input from more than 200 clinicians, educators, families and other stakeholders, crafted Indiana's Pediatric Mental Health Strategic Plan, which aims to expand access to a range of evidence-based treatments and interventions for children with mental health disorders.

"Our vision is to create a future where Indiana youth can receive the right care, at the right time and in the right place for their mental health and substance use disorder needs," the document states. "While this plan informs Riley Children Health’s strategy, it is designed to advise on a path forward for youth across the state."

Thirty percent of Indiana high schoolers said their mental health was "not good" either "most of the time" or "all the time" in 2021 — a worrying statistic that experts said illustrates the urgent need to adopt a coordinated and collaborative approach to treating youth mental health disorders.

Between 2007 and 2018, Indiana experienced one of the largest increases in suicides among 10- to 24-year-olds nationwide. In its strategic plan, Riley Children's Health identified chronic underinvestment in the mental healthcare system as one factor contributing to downward trends in young Hoosier's mental health.

"We must act with urgency," planners wrote. "Addressing this public health emergency will require all of us working together — state and local governments, healthcare systems, schools, the business community, nonprofits, and donors."

Riley Children's Hospital and its partners will host mental health-focused events on a region-by-region basis to further implement the statewide strategic plan. Local steering groups, including one Evansville, work off of four fundamental strategies:

• Expand early intervention and prevention resources

• Increase awareness of outpatient services

• Ensure safe interventions for kids in crisis

• Ensure the right type and distribution of inpatient services

Peri said no single factor is responsible for long-term increases in the number of youths experiencing mental health disorders, though he said pandemic-imposed isolation and social media use could contribute to the "multifactorial" problem.

Advocates hope 'Racing to Respond' can be part of the solution: The film's premiere and panel discussion will educate families, advocates, community leaders and other stakeholders in Evansville about the need to fund local, evidence-based interventions.

"That's one of the themes in the film," Peri said. "Even if we do have access to care, you want to make sure that healthcare professionals are using evidenced-based measures that can really make an impact on the situation."

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: 'Racing to Respond' documentary to premiere in Evansville. How do I attend?