Gen Z and millennials want to have a chat about mental health. With politicians

Just a few weeks after entering the Maryland legislature last year, House Delegate Joe Vogel introduced his first bill.

Inspired by the young people he met while campaigning around his Montgomery County-based district, it focused on relieving up to $30,000 in student debt for mental health professionals working in Maryland public schools.

"They wanted to elect someone who was going to make student mental health a priority," Vogel remembered.

The policy received bipartisan support, and legislation including Vogel's language was signed into law last May.

Now, Vogel is running for Congress in Maryland's sixth district, an open seat currently held by Democratic Rep. David Trone, who is running for Senate. If elected, the 27-year-old would become just the second member of Generation Z in Congress.

His platform includes addressing what he calls a mental health crisis, in part facing young people today. He told NPR that his age adds an important perspective to his work on the subject.

"The toxicity that we see on social media platforms... the fear of what the climate crisis is going to hold for our generation. I mean, all of these things, I think, have a unique impact on our generation," Vogel said.

"But on top of that, we're also a generation that is having to deal with this mental health crisis without adequate resources," he added.

Many young Americans are vocal about their struggles with mental health compared to older age groups. It comes at the same time as both Democratic and Republican leaders work to address the issue.

The latest Harvard Youth Poll found that nearly half of Americans under 30 reported feeling down, depressed, or hopeless, and 56% said they felt nervous, anxious or on edge at least several times a week.