With help from the San Luis Coastal Unified School District and a $30,000 grant from the San Luis Obispo County Friday Night Live Partnership, San Luis Obispo High School now has a new wellness center designed to give students access to much-needed resources. has been established.
“I think the best way to reduce barriers to accessing services is if we can provide some of them on campus,” said SLO High School SEL Counselor Austin Miller.
As a senior who experienced her own journey with mental health in high school, Delaney Hernandez says her peers are the most vulnerable and need to have their own space to address their issues.
“After struggling with that, coming to a stable place and looking at all the people I met through it, I knew people really needed this,” Hernandez said.
For Sr. Tristan Candelas, who lost his older brother in a car accident in 2021, using places like the Wellness Center to not only work through his own grief, but helping others has added to the healing process. It’s having an impact.
“I tried to help others because I like to help others, and that helped me. The bad thoughts just disappeared,” Candelas explained.
In addition to being a safe space to escape the rigors of teenagers, the center also serves as a place where counselors like Miller invite group and individual therapy sessions and virtual teletherapy calls. .
“As a parent of a student or child in the district, it makes you feel good to know that the high school your kids attend is there for them,” he said.
Nipomo High School and Morro Bay High School received the same grant for their respective wellness centers.
