New Jersey just became the 17th state to allow minors to seek mental health treatment without their parents’ consent. Called the Boys & Girls Clubs Keystone Law, it was proposed in 2014 by legislators Carmelo Garcia and Raj Mukherji in response to the demand posed by 15 members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County (BGCHC). The coalition was led by then-17-year-old Jordan Thomas, whose request to see a counselor about domestic abuse was rejected because he didn’t have his mother’s permission.
As the president of the BGCHC's Keystone Griffins Club, Jordan toldNJ.com that, "If there are other kids who are like me, I don't think that they should have to be subjected to whatever it is that's going on in their household without being able to speak to someone about it and express themselves and release whatever it is that's going on because without a release, you start doing other things that could ultimately ruin your life.” In 2013, Jordan voluntarily left home and entered the foster care system with the help of his network of peers and mentors at the BGCHC. There, he met kids with experiences similar to his.
[For more of this story, written by Kate Dwyer, go to http://www.teenvogue.com/story...al-counseling-health]
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