Millions for mental health

HSE Schools will distribute newly awarded grant over the next ve years

Sophia Krueger kruegsop000@hsestudents.org

On Jan. 10, HSE Schools announced that the district had received a $5.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the amount of school-based mental health professionals in the district.

e funds from the grant will be used to support multiple schools throughout the district, including FHS, where Jenna Petro serves as a counselor.

“I know that we are supposed to get two new counselors in our department, which we’re very excited for,“ Petro said. “We have di erent thoughts on what that will look like, but it’s been really fun just thinking about getting extra support, because we know that support directly a ects students.” e school’s sta currently consists of nine counselors, but with a current student-tocounselor ratio of approximately 410:1, Petro recognizes that assistance in the department will be valuable.

“I love getting to work with so many students,” said Petro . “Being able to advocate more and get closer with those students and families, and just being able to spend more time intently with less students on our load, will just be really bene cial for everybody across the board.”

According to Petro , her job consists of discussing students’ academic needs, mental and emotional health, future colleges and careers, home life and school life; A role that has seen an increase in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I just think our role is so important, but I can speak for myself as a counselor, it’s hard to ever feel like you’re doing enough,” Petro said. “So that’s what makes us excited.” e funding will be invested into increasing counseling sta , but junior Leah Mercho has her own opinions on how the grant could reshape the counseling system.

“I’d like [counseling to be] more outside of school because during school I feel like if kids are going to be pulled out to receive help, that’s not really helping them better themselves within the school day, and I think it could be happening on a more regular basis outside of school,” said Mercho.

Counseling is one form of relief that students are able to seek, but Mercho suggests that there are other ways students can help relieve stress as well, such as journaling.

“I think the best advice I could give is to work on expressing those emotions to yourself rst,” Mercho said. “Telling yourself the problem before you take it to someone else; to make sure that you’re really expressing what it is, rather than blurting out things that you might not truly feel.” e grant comes as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a bill signed into law on June 25, 2022. e bill invests in a multitude of areas, including mental health, a topic that junior Vince Dieu believes is no longer as stigmatized as it once was.

“In our school, I have seen lots of people burnt out and willing to share with others that they are not okay,” Dieu said. “Tons of them go to therapy or take medication to help, and that de nitely shows the normalization of struggling with mental health. It shows that this is a real thing and that it’s okay because everyone is dealing with it.”

An e ort to normalize mental health struggles amongst students can be found at the Bring Change to Mind club, where Dieu serves as a board member.

“Bring Change to Mind is a club that dedicates its time to educating others about the importance of mental health and ways to help destress,” Dieu said. “We do activities to better our understanding of each other as peers, the community, and to inform [everyone] on disorders that can help their [ability] to help others.”

Dieu emphasizes that the club is a judgment-free zone within the school, and encourages speaking up about your struggles, an action that Petro believes is vital to starting a conversation on the topic.

“You can’t get help if you are not open to talking about it,” Petro said. “It’s hard, but I think the rst step is the hardest. Everybody has their own dealings with mental health, whether they’re talking about it or not. ey might know someone who’s dealing with it whether it be a parent, or a family member or a friend. I just think we can only help each other if we are comfortable with talking about it. So, I would just encourage [students] to be brave enough to do so.”