00:00Alarming figures released by Chilang-Titi are shedding light on what advocates describe as a growing mental health crisis among children.
00:08Chair of Chilang-Titi, Isolde Alligant, revealed that between 2020 and 2025,
00:14the organization received more than 1,500 calls and messages related to suicidal ideation, all from children under the age of 17.
00:23She says the data underscores the urgent need for structured support once emotional distress is identified.
00:30What we need are resources to assist once distress has been identified,
00:37and this includes counseling services, family-based supports, school-based interventions,
00:42trauma-informed responses across all systems in our nation.
00:47She also outlined the warning signs parents, teachers, and the caregivers should watch for,
00:53noting that behavioral changes are often early indicators of deeper emotional challenge.
00:58Red flags, I think that is important to note, would include a change in behaviors,
01:10rapid emotional escalation, withdrawal, irritability, conflicts with peers,
01:19changes in the way a child would engage at school, including decline in grades,
01:24expressions of hopelessness, or even apathy.
01:28I don't know, I don't care, doesn't bother me, where they just exist in a kind of situation.
01:39Meanwhile, consultant to the Samaritan Movement, Rev. Dr. Gerald J. Magoon,
01:45described the figures as unprecedented, warning that the country is facing a national crisis.
01:50Suicidality and the rates of suicidality are staggering.
01:54When 40% of your children are saying they're thinking about suicide,
02:00my God, people of God, we are in a crisis.
02:04This is astronomical numbers that have not been seen in any of the data.
02:10That it is validated by the work of Childline and Lifeline,
02:15that it is validated by objective data, means that we now need to speak openly and quite honestly
02:24about this immediate symptom of a bigger issue that has been described by Vanessa and Isolde
02:33and will be described by His Grace, that the system really needs addressing.
02:39Adding to the discussion, Catholic Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon is calling for legislative action
02:45to restrict children's access to social media.
02:48He argues that even technology executives have acknowledged that platforms are intentionally designed
02:54to be addictive and is urging the government to consider measures similar to Australia's,
02:59which bans social media use for children under a specific age.
03:03I will propose that social media is far more addictive than alcohol.
03:09In testimony in Congress, the giants and the leaders of tech said we create the algorithm
03:18specifically to create long-lasting media exposure and engagement
03:27and to bring the person back the next time and the next time and the next time.
03:32They've created it to be addictive.
03:37I think following Australia, and many countries are looking at that now,
03:42we should be looking at a law to protect our children from social media
03:48the same way we're protecting them from alcohol.
03:52Stakeholders agree that addressing the crisis will require coordinated action from families,
03:57schools, policy makers and mental health professionals
04:00to safeguard the well-being of the nation's children.
04:04Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
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