The upcoming live, call-in television program will focus on parent peer specialists and school- and community-based mental health services — two methods being implemented by the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH). The program will also feature teenagers, including Miss Wisconsin Jr. Teen United States Brittany Georgia, who will share their personal experiences.

In a recent report to the Wisconsin Legislature, the OCMH indicated that approximately one in four high school students experience symptoms of depression. The report also noted Wisconsin’s high rate of children’s psychiatric hospitalization and a suicide rate among youth that is 40 percent higher than the national average. The OCMH, which was created as part of the 2013-2015 biennial budget, is tasked with improving children and families’ access to mental health services.

Featured guests on the program include: OCMH Family Relations Coordinator Joann Stephens, Wisconsin Council of Administrators of Special Services Executive Director Gary Myrah, Bellin Health Pediatrician Dr. Joseph Kellner, Wisconsin Family Ties Regional Coordinator and Parent Peer Specialist Deb Ramacher, Green Bay Police Department Community Crisis Intervention Officer and District Captain Jeremy Muraski and American Foundation of Counseling Services Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Rebecca Beall.