COVID-19's Impact on Youth Mental Health and Human Service Organizations

COVID-19's Threat to Community-Based Organizations

COVID-19 has impacted the physical, mental, and social lives of human beings across all dimensions. Despite growing demand for social services, community-based organizations (CBOs) struggle to fulfill those needs (Tsega et al., 2020). They face dwindling resources to meet the requirements of vulnerable individuals, while government and funding agencies increasingly lack the techniques and funds to meet the costs of delivering pertinent services.

There are three main challenges that community-based organizations face during times of crisis: long-term financial survival, staff availability at reduced salaries, and service delivery concerns that affect their ability to meet clients' needs (Tsega et al., 2020). The population segments most severely affected by COVID-19 were the elderly, women, children, and youth (OECD, 2020). Their physical and mental well-being are undoubtedly pressing concerns, but income stability is another prominent issue that must be addressed to alleviate growing anxiety and depression.

Older adults have less social support, while young people struggling to protect their families through their income find it increasingly difficult to maintain work-life balance at home. Because the affected population categories are large, human service organizations require enormous resources — and on short notice. Meeting deadlines, adhering to policies, and keeping staff motivated to serve affected communities are all critical tasks under these conditions.

Ethical and Operational Challenges for Human Service Workers

Several ethical challenges confronted social work employees who were neither aware of nor prepared for them when COVID-19 struck. These included: building relationships of trust over phone or internet connections with clients so that confidentiality could be maintained as a priority; assessing clients' needs and risks while maintaining a balance for effective social work; minimizing the gap between services delivered and amplifying needs with limited resources; making sound decisions about whether to follow national or regional policies so that professional conduct in critical circumstances could be upheld; managing self-care and staff fatigue while handling clients; and rethinking social work directions while operating in COVID-affected environments (Banks et al., 2020).

The proactive recommendations for employers of human service organizations include: accounting for government policies specifically designed to address challenges facing small businesses and their most vulnerable workers; establishing coordinated governance frameworks within organizational culture to strengthen teamwork and expand reach; using digital tools and educating the public on how to use them to extend the reach of social services for better screening of underserved individuals; organizing the supply of needed resources for socially isolated groups, particularly for quarantine, treatment, or hospitalization needs; and empowering coordination with the broader community so that city workers could be encouraged to contribute through funds and resource provision (OECD, 2020).

Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on Youth

Youth were already contending with significant challenges such as educational difficulties and college dropout rates that led to reduced employment opportunities (OECD, 2020). COVID-19 aggravated these impacts as the number of pathways available to young people diminished rapidly. Loss of motivation and below-average performance became inevitable outcomes that directly affected their mental health. Youth also experienced the loss of social support as they were confined to home due to social isolation and a shift to online study. Although social media connectivity helped some young people maintain their mental well-being, others carried the burden of household poverty and income stress for their families (OECD, 2020).

It has been estimated that more than 40% of youth were affected by a four-year loss of employment opportunities, leading to discouragement and an overwhelming sense of exclusion (OECD, 2020). This constitutes a substantial economic cost for governments, as a large portion of GDP had to be allocated to helping youth manage stress and recover from depression. Youth with the lowest education levels were especially vulnerable to inactivity and negative psychological development into adulthood.

The psychological difficulties observed in youth encompassed mood disorders, reduced focus and attention, sleep disorders, hyperactivity disorders, and — in severe cases — suicide attempts or heightened self-harming behaviors in the first months of the pandemic (Chadi et al., 2022). These outcomes underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions for young people during public health crises.

Conclusion

Youth action plans were designed vigorously as soon as COVID-19 hit countries worldwide. Within their circles of resources and funding, governments have been working to enact fully supported mental health systems for young people. Cross-sectoral policies have been developed across all areas in response to the emerging needs of the crisis, as social service organizations recognize youth mental health as a priority. The sustained commitment of funders, policymakers, and human service workers will be essential to protecting the well-being of young people during the pandemic and in the years that follow.

References

Banks, S., Cai, T., de Jonge, E., Shears, J., Shum, M., Sobocan, A. M., Strom, K., Truell, R., Uriz, M. J., & Weinberg, M. (2020, June 29). Ethical challenges for social workers during Covid 19: A global perspective. The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). https://www.ifsw.org/ethical-challenges-for-social-workers-during-covid-19-a-global-perspective/

Chadi, N., Ryan, N. C., & Geoffroy, M. C. (2022). COVID-19 and the impacts on youth mental health: Emerging evidence from longitudinal studies. Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Sante Publique, 113(1), 44–52. https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-021-00567-8

Exner-Cortens, D., Baker, E., Gray, S., Fernandez Conde, C., Rivera, R. R., Van Bavel, M., Vezina, E., Ambrose, A., Pawluk, C., Schwartz, K. D., & Arnold, P. D. (2021). School-based suicide risk assessment using eHealth for youth: Systematic scoping review. JMIR Mental Health, 8(9), e29454. https://doi.org/10.2196/29454

OECD. (2020, March 31). OECD policy responses to Coronavirus (Covid 19) — Covid 19: Protecting people and societies. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/covid-19-protecting-people-and-societies-e5c9de1a/

OECD. (2021, May 12). OECD policy responses to Coronavirus (Covid 19) — Supporting young people's mental health through the Covid-19 crisis. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/supporting-young-people-s-mental-health-through-the-covid-19-crisis-84e143e5/

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Tsega, M., Giantris, K., & Shah, T. (2020, June 1). Essential social services are struggling to survive the Covid 19 crisis. The Commonwealth Fund.

Vestal, C. (2021, November 8). Covid harmed kids' mental health — and schools are feeling it. PEW.

White House. (2021, October 19). Fact sheet: Improving access and care for youth mental health and substance use conditions.