Credit: Green Economy Coalition (Martin, B. (2023, March 3). How the youth climate movement has evolved from school strikes to systemic change. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/from-school-strikes-to-systemic-change-how-the-youth-climate-movement-has-evolved)
So, what can we do moving forward? As climate change continues to affect our communities, responding to its mental health impacts needs to become a bigger part of climate and disaster planning. This means making mental health support available before, during, and after climate-related events, rather than only focusing on physical health and immediate safety.
We also need to make sure that support is accessible and affordable, especially for communities that are more vulnerable to climate-related mental health impacts. Strong family and community connections, cultural and spiritual practices, and access to mental health services can all help people cope and recover.
As individuals, we can also take steps by staying connected with others, learning about reliable climate information, supporting our communities, and finding healthy ways to respond to climate-related stress. Most importantly, we should recognize that mental health is not separate from climate change. If we want to build communities that are prepared for a changing climate, mental health support needs to be part of that preparation.