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RENO, Kan. (KAKE) — A Reno County teenager is calling on Kansas leaders to expand youth mental health resources after new survey data showed local students are struggling at rates higher than the statewide average.
Christian Buckwalter, an incoming freshman at Buhler High School, said his advocacy is fueled by both personal experience and conversations with classmates who have struggled with their mental health.
“I’ve dealt with mental health by starting a campaign at Prairie Hills Middle School last year, helping build more mental health resources for Buhler and working with Rise Up Reno to better understand how mental health affects our youth in Kansas,” Buckwalter said.
His efforts come as the 2026 Kansas Communities That Care Youth Survey found that 38.4% of Reno County students reported feeling so sad or hopeless for at least two weeks during the past year that they stopped doing some of their usual activities. The statewide average was 30.4%.
The survey is administered every two years to students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 and is used by communities across Kansas to identify youth risk factors and guide prevention efforts.
Buckwalter said those numbers reflect what he has seen while talking with students in his school district.
“I talked to a lot of people at my school while I was running this campaign, and there’s a lot of stigma because people don’t really feel comfortable talking about mental health. It just isn’t something that’s talked about very much,” he said.
Buckwalter said he has contacted Gov. Laura Kelly, both of Kansas’ U.S. senators and his state representative, urging them to prioritize youth mental health funding.
“I’ve reached out to Governor Laura Kelly, both of our Kansas senators and the Reno County representative for Kansas,” Buckwalter said. “I’m hoping they can put more funding into mental health.”
He said one of his biggest concerns is that some students who need help either do not know where to turn or are afraid to ask for it.
Buckwalter said his passion for advocacy began after experiencing his own struggles with anxiety and depression in middle school.
“Starting around sixth grade through eighth grade, I dealt with anxiety and depression, and I avoided a lot at school,” he said. “Now I’m in Rise Up Reno’s youth leadership program, which teaches students how to be advocates.”
He also said losing a friend and hearing from classmates who had harmed themselves reinforced the need to speak out.
“I was in seventh grade when I found out one of my friends had died from what was most likely mental health-related reasons,” Buckwalter said. “I’ve also had people reach out to me who had hurt themselves because of mental health struggles.”
Buckwalter said he hopes sharing his own experiences will encourage other young people to seek help rather than suffer in silence.
“I feel like the most important thing is that it’s better to tell someone than not tell anyone and let it build up inside of you,” he said.
Kansas currently funds the Mental Health Intervention Team program, which partners schools with community mental health providers to connect students with behavioral health services. Buckwalter said he hopes the state continues investing in and expanding access to mental health resources for young people.
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