The US Centers for Disease Control reports a significant rise in adolescent mental health concerns over the past five years. Even before the shutdown due to COVID-19, the number of teenagers reporting depression symptoms was on the rise. Since 2019, there has been a considerable spike in sadness and hopelessness among adolescents—from 31% of teens […]
Nearly every Saturday, 11-year-old Brody wakes up early, not to scroll on his phone and watch YouTube videos, but rather to volunteer alongside his parents and siblings. Brody is one of many children in Chicagoland who steps up to address pressing challenges in our communities, such as poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness. According to Illinois […]
Finding the perfect Father’s Day gift might leave even the best shoppers scratching their heads. What do you get for the guy who has cornered the market on tools, grills, sports, or other hobbies? If you want to do something meaningful for Dad, Grandpa, or your favorite father figure who has it all, maybe it’s […]
I married a world-class father. In fact, Nick Noyes’ children from his first marriage — Henry, then 14, and Elizabeth, then 12 — played a huge role in our courtship. We laughed more and loved harder when Henry and/or Elizabeth were with us. So I knew he would be a good dad to our kids […]
Four years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, news cycles continue to serve up potentially traumatic events that remind us resilience is fundamental to successfully navigating crises. At the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, we recently unpacked research conducted during the pandemic to gain a better understanding of how people were feeling. What we […]
The weather’s warm, school’s out, and everyone’s excited for the fun that comes with long summer days spent outdoors. While you’re getting everything prepared for your child’s sports camp — sunscreen, water bottles, or packing an overnight bag — it’s important to spend some time thinking about athlete safety. The U.S. Center for SafeSport is […]
Michael J. Nyenhuis, president and CEO of UNICEF USA since March 2020, sat down with Make It Better founder Susan B. Noyes to share his insight and excitement about the launch of “Heart Strings: Creating Connection To The World’s Children.” The interactive, multimedia experience, a collaboration between UNICEF USA and award-winning multimedia studio Moment Factory, […]
One out of every eight people live with a mental health disorder. Many of them cannot receive the care they need due to the shortage of mental health providers. In Illinois, there are only 13.8 behavioral health care providers for every 10,000 residents; this means 4.8 million Illinois residents live in a mental health shortage […]
Some human traits are universal — like our yearnings for love, hope, healing and to be better organized. So is our inclination to make choices that help others as well as ourselves when it is easy to do so. Therefore, in some of our recent content highlighted here, we showcase programs and advice that evoke […]
Fentanyl has been called the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. It is, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The numbers are staggering. In 2021, 107,375 Americans died of drug overdose and poisoning, with 67% of those deaths involving synthetic […]
