Good News Friday: There are signs of progress in the youth mental health crisis in NC

Another week of positive stories, featuring exciting sports news from the Queen City! Plus, improvements in youth mental health and a sweet dog adoption story.

It’s Friday, which means we’re rounding up more positive news stories to brighten up your weekend! 

This week, NC teachers got some long-awaited pay raises, there are positive signs for youth mental health post-COVID, and North Carolina gets another premiere sports event.

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Keep reading.

Charlotte Hosts 2 Copa America Matches

The Hornet’s Nest is buzzing with excitement this week as thousands of soccer fans fill Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte for two important games in the Copa America tournament. 

The tournament, which is usually played in South America, is being hosted by the United States this year. 

On Wednesday, a whopping 70,644 fans packed into Bank of America Stadium to watch Uruguay and Colombia battle it out in an intense semifinal match. After a heated 90 minutes which included seven yellow cards and one red, Colombia came out on top with a score of 1-0 to head to the final in Miami on Sunday. 

The Uruguayan team will stay in Charlotte until Saturday, when they’ll play Canada for the third-place spot in the tournament. Colombia will head on to play Argentina and all-time great Lionel Messi. 

Yes, there was an ugly brawl during the festivities. 

But in a time when soccer culture is on the rise in the Queen City, it’s an exciting honor to have two huge, international games right here in our city!

 

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North Carolina shows improvement in youth mental health crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic was a rough time for mental health, but it really exacerbated the existing mental health crisis among students and young people. 

These past few years saw a huge uptick in the symptoms of anxiety and depression amongst students, but new data show that the situation is improving in a number of states, including North Carolina.

The percentage of high school students who considered suicide dropped from 22% in 2021 to 18% in 2023. 

This improvement has been largely attributed to investments in school counselors and school-based mental health policies, but as any seasoned statistician would tell you, one year is good news, but two or more years of improvement is a trend. So we’ll keep our eyes on this story at Cardinal & Pine. 

Dog who spent 220 days in shelter finally adopted 

Meet Chance, the sweet pup who became the longest resident at the Yancey County Humane Society. 

Chance was originally brought into the shelter in August of 2023 and was adopted shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, his new owners didn’t take proper care of him, so he was returned to the shelter after a few months by animal control. 

Chance then spent 221 days in the shelter and became its longest resident. Shelter staff have described his sweet demeanor and how he seemed to act as a kind of father figure for the smaller dogs.

Finally, Chance was adopted on July 8, and we’re so happy this family decided to take a “chance” on him!

Pay raises for teachers signed into law

On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a piece of legislation which authorizes a 3%pay raise for North Carolina public school teachers. Senate Bill 332 was first approved by legislators last year, and will finally go into effect this month. 

There’s still much work left to do; our educators are absolutely critical to the wellbeing of our state and are still underpaid and underrecognized, but this bill is a great step in the right direction.