EDINBURG, Texas (VALLEY CENTRAL) — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and school districts across the Valley are focusing on student mental health during this time.
The Region 1-based Counseling and Mental Health Department has been established for just over a year. Last year, Region 1 received his nearly $6 million grant to help launch the program.
Since its founding, the Counseling and Mental Health Department has enrolled more than 50,000 students and trained more than 10,000 educators.
The office is currently working with five local districts on research-based programs. This is his five-year plan to investigate how well the programs they have in place work.
“In some areas, the nearest mental health professional is more than 60 miles away,” said Yovan Salinas, director of counseling and mental health. “So we want to provide them with these resources and make sure we remove any barriers for them to access that care.”
Region 1 is working with other districts to help implement the awarded grants. Salinas said he hopes to provide training that the district can use in its schools.
“We went to their districts and offered camps and presentations not only here at the center but also at the campus level,” Salinas said.
Salinas said the state mandated a number of new laws and policies surrounding mental health in the last year. Attention to mental health issues is a need that has existed for a very long time.
“You know, a lot of people think the coronavirus pandemic was the trigger for a lot of that,” Salinas said. Especially since we’ve been in isolation for so long, and if you look at the suicide numbers before COVID-19, they were pretty high at the time. ”
She added that COVID-19 has only heightened the need to have mental health supports in place.
To help local residents understand these issues, the school district holds its own information sessions.
“They also bring parents to campus to train them and make them more aware of things to watch out for,” Salinas said. “And how to support students in regulating those emotions.”
Region 1 has also established a crisis response team that is available on campus to help whenever grief counseling is needed. It’s also looking to hire more trained counselors who can travel to districts that can’t afford full-time staff.
On Saturday, Region 1 will host its second annual Mental Health Awareness Day. Region 1 hopes the Star Wars-themed event will be a fun way to get information about mental health resources.
