The number of young people showing up in mental health crises in Colorado is increasing, according to Children’s Hospital Colorado. Emergency department visits for mental health reasons are typically 20% higher in April than the annual average, though this year's gap narrowed to 12%. The hospital's director of patient care services, Dr. Lauren Eckhart, noted that students are dealing with standardized testing, transitions to new schools or high-stakes social events such as prom. The pattern could be due to schools identifying students' mental health concerns and the accumulation of academic and social stressors. Additionally, mental health emergencies among youths peak a few weeks after school begins in the fall, and then again in the spring, with dips around Thanksgiving and Christmas. The number of calls to Wellpower's access center seeking help for children and teens increased 25% from February to March this year, and appears to rise again in April.