{"id":7457,"date":"2026-08-21T23:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7457"},"modified":"2026-08-21T23:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:07:17","slug":"reading-rainbow-host-mychal-threets-praised-for-seeking-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7457","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Reading Rainbow\u2019 host Mychal Threets praised for seeking help"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A gaggle of excited Fairfield elementary school students thronged Mychal Threets in May, exchanging high fives with him during a surprise visit from the beloved Fairfield native and nationally known \u201cReading Rainbow\u201d host.<\/p>\n

Read more Review: \u2018Denshattack!\u2019 goes off the rails and that\u2019s a great thing<\/a><\/p>\n

Just three months later, the TikTok influencer and literary advocate is, by his own admission, \u201cnot okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll never be okay,\u201d wrote Threets on Threads, Meta\u2019s text-based app. \u201cI\u2019m seeking help. Going to the (hospital) tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: Bay Area librarian and host of \u2018Reading Rainbow\u2019 Mychal Threets tells concerned fans he\u2019s seeking help<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fans first grew concerned about Threets\u2019 well-being earlier this month when he began a video by telling viewers, \u201cIf today is my last day in the land of the living, I just wanted to say, \u2018I love you, and I\u2019m proud of you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Threets worked for 11 years at Solano County\u2019s Fairfield Civic Center Library, and brought the joy of reading to his over 1.4 million social media followers online and in person, as his May visit to Fairfield\u2019s Cleo Gordon Elementary attests.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Solano County Library spokesman Christopher Diaz said, \u201cWe wish Mychal well as he navigates this difficult time. Our thoughts are with Mychal and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent years, libraries have morphed into something very different from the peaceful literary refuges they once were.<\/p>\n

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Library workers have become targets of abuse and even assault. In states like California, where the number of people experiencing homelessness has grown, librarians have had to act as emergency medical workers or mental health professionals at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

Over a period of one year, Threets filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations, he told the New York Times in 2024.<\/p>\n

In a 2022 study of more than 400 staff members at urban libraries across the country, nearly 70 percent of respondents said that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons.<\/p>\n

In \u201cTrauma in the Library,\u201d a University of Washington survey of 1,300 U.S. library workers conducted that same year, the workers reported more than 8,000 incidents including threats, assault or harassment. They also mentioned conflicts with library administrators, aging buildings and book-ban fallout.<\/p>\n

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Threets left the library in 2024, saying he was doing so to prioritize his mental health. In 2025, he was tapped to host an online revival of the children\u2019s program \u201cReading Rainbow,\u201d which dates back to 1983.<\/p>\n

A Vallejo physician says Threets\u2019 experiences, plus his lifelong struggles with depression and anxiety, could have left scars with which he still must contend.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraumas often come back to haunt us in different ways, said Dr. Tami Hendriksz, campus provost of Touro University. \u201cEven when people are very talented and accomplished and productive and give an outward appearance of being successful and joyful, they can still be struggling with mental health challenges. Those past traumas can return and affect us again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to normalize seeking mental health care, and that\u2019s the silver lining in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor described Threets as a role model, both in his post saying he was going to go to the hospital and in his past social media comments in which he was open about his depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n

Read more An 18-year-old with a sword attacks a school in Sweden, leaving 1 dead<\/a><\/p>\n

Hendriksz said that when well-recognized people talk openly about their struggles and about getting help, it gives everyone else permission to acknowledge their struggles.<\/p>\n

Threets has also said he experienced harrowing cyberbullying on TikTok and the social media site X (formerly Twitter). He has repeatedly spoken candidly about how the backlash has affected his mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cCyberbullying has a really serious impact on people,\u201d says Christopher Taylor, a Texas psychotherapist.<\/p>\n

Because of the perceived anonymity, in which a person can create a fake account from which to attack another, \u201cwe seem to have decided we can say anything we want: \u2018You are a terrible person, you should kill yourself,\u2019\u201d the therapist said.<\/p>\n

Hendriksz seemed to agree, saying, \u201cUnfortunately, cyberbullying is prevalent even starting at young ages, and we do see negative impacts on people\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minute a person experiences cyberbullying, she said, they should take screenshots to document what happened, report it to the moderators or whoever is accountable on the platform, and then get off the platform.<\/p>\n

After taking the screenshots and reporting the abuse, \u201cdelete your accounts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dalal Mansour, principal of Cleo Gordon, the school Threets visited in May, seemed to be on board with Hendriksz\u2019s analysis of the Reading Rainbow host\u2019s impact on young students and grownups alike in his honesty and willingness to seek treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibrarian Mychal\u2019s visit to our students in May was truly a special experience,\u201d Mansour said in an email.<\/p>\n

\u201cCleo Gordon is one of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District\u2019s five community schools, and we are dedicated to removing barriers and supporting the emotional and physical wellness of all students and families,\u201d the principal said. \u201cHis visit was not only engaging and meaningful, but also aligned with the core values of our school.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students were captivated as Mychal spoke about his passion for libraries and storytelling, reminding us that it is always okay to ask for help,\u201d Mansour said. \u201cHe remains a deeply cherished member of our community, and our thoughts are with him. We can\u2019t wait to have him come visit again with our students!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ilana Israel Samuels, spokeswoman for the district, said, \u201cOur goal is to ensure that our students and families know that we are here for them, and they are not alone. This goes for our staff as well. We have a wide range of wellness resources available on our website.\u201d These include posters with names and contact information for staffers who can support students, and information about student trauma and recovery resources.<\/p>\n

Students, parents and guardians in other Solano County school districts can visit the Solano County Office of Education website for resources including the wellness initiative, mobile crisis services and social-emotional learning.<\/p>\n

Concerning the wider area, Hendriksz said, \u201cHere in Solano County we have several ways for people to get help.\u201d When someone is experiencing an urgent mental health crisis, they can call the county\u2019s 24-hour mobile crisis team at 707-806-0866, she said.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more Mailbag: Future schedules for Oregon, Washington and USC; playoff expansion; my AP ballot; a PR nightmare and loads more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cReading Rainbow\u201d host Mychal Threets recently posted on social media that he is experiencing mental health struggles and seeking help. 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