SLO County schools add new mental health, suicide prevention program
TribuneOct 11, 2017
That late-night conversation led to a new program launched a few weeks ago at three local schools by the nonprofit
"We already had a Mental Health Awareness Week (in school), but we knew we could build on that," said Kaplan, now a freshman at
So far roughly 100 local high school students involved in student leadership programs have received about eight hours in training from mental health professionals in how to identify signs of mental distress in their friends and classmates -- and what they can do if they detect them.
In addition, customized training has been provided to about 180 school teachers and staff, and the association has shared mental health basics in presentations to more than 650 students.
The program launched at
Mental health 'first aid'
According to the
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24, and about 90 percent of those who commit suicide had some underlying mental illness, according to the organization.
"Suicide is the extreme end of the spectrum, but there's a lot of things that connect to it," said
The key to change, he said, is awareness and discussion.
"There's a common misconception that if you ask someone if they're contemplating suicide, it puts the idea in their mind. That's simply not the case,"
That's why he and his son Nathan concluded there needed to be more support and education for local students and their school's teachers, administrators, counselors, janitors and cafeteria staff. They enlisted the help of three other
They worked with TMHA staff to draft a plan where the nonprofit would rotate a certified mental health advocate at different school campuses, provide mental health training to school staff, and offer some of the same training to any student who was interested.
With the students' input, TMHA drafted a proposal that won the grant funding in mid-2016.
At a 90-minute introductory training session at
"I didn't understand what I was going through so I didn't reach out. It kept me silent," Waddle said. "Their (students) mental health problems often develop during adolescence, so this is the time to start looking for it."
The program hasn't attracted any negative responses from students or parents, though
But that may slowly be changing as popular culture recently has embraced movies and music taking an honest look at mental health and suicide, such as
"It's not just '13 Reasons Why.' It's
The program has received good feedback.
"It's been very positive. I think it empowers our students to be knowledgeable of these issues affecting our society," said
For more information on the High School Program, contact
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