mental health

Kansas City’s transgender community is sandwiched between two states where Republican-controlled legislatures have made limiting transgender health care and other rights a top priority. Families say the restrictions put their safety at risk.

Platte County residents are suing the three-member commission for failing to implement a quarter-cent sales tax that voters passed in November. The tax would fund youth mental health services, which are severely lacking in the county.

From 2017 through 2023, roughly 2,680 people with developmental disabilities died under the care of the state of Missouri — on average, one person every day.

After 10 months of providing behavioral health support, Maria Loconsolo was ready to commit 20 years at her federal job with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Those plans went out the window last weekend.

A Lawrence-based psychologist says more light exposure could help reduce the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

There are 418 Missourians across the state on a waiting list for a mental health bed, up from around 300 at this time last year. People are spending an average of 14 months in jail before receiving their court-ordered treatment.

Johnson County recorded 93 suicide deaths in 2023, down from 122 the previous year. Mental health experts say it’s hard to know if the encouraging numbers are a sign of things to come, but it could indicate that mental health services are working in the short term.

Hundreds of unhoused people in Kansas City have been sleeping outside, even in the recent frigid temperatures. We asked them to explain — in their own words — why. Plus: sports betting will soon be available in Missouri, but public health experts worry about the effect online betting will have on gamblers' mental health.

A Wellness Court opened this month within Kansas City's Municipal Court, replacing the separate mental health and drug courts. The new approach offers a unique focus on co-occurring issues and lowers the barriers for people to get help.

Missouri lawmakers will consider dozens of health-related bills this session. Topics like insulin pricing, food labeling and mental health are top of mind, as well as efforts to reverse the abortion rights amendment passed by voters in November.

In November's election, a majority of Platte County voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax that would fund youth mental health services. But Platte County Commissioners refused to enact the tax, drawing criticism from residents and mental health providers.

Raising kids is harder now than 10-15 years ago, so much so that the U.S. Surgeon General issued a health advisory about parenting. A Kansas City mental health expert and parent discuss the modern day challenges to raising children.