The mental health of children was another casualty of COVID-19.
Students have struggled to catch up as they try to return to some kind of routine in their school work. At the same time, school districts across the country are experimenting with ways to support their students' mental health.
In the Poway Unified School District, the concept of a wellness center has been used at several campuses.
The wellness center at Black Mountain Middle School in Rancho Peñasquitos is the largest in the district. It is designed as a safe space for any of the 1,100 students in sixth through eighth grades to stop by, take a break, and calm down when something upsetting happens.
Erfan Esmaeili, 13, is an eighth grade student who uses the room to talk things over with friends.
“Yeah, it’s always good to talk to a friend because you know you’re not alone and you can talk to someone who might be feeling the same way as you," he said.
“I’ve come here (often) to calm down and it helps with the anxiety," said Isabella Pena,14, another eighth-grader at the campus.
Rosalinda Koch, the campus' student services specialist, runs the wellness room. She has created a calming corner with tools and toys used as emotional support for her students.
“It's just important to listen to them to see what their need is. Sometimes, we have students that are not able to express verbally how they’re feeling," Koch said.
The Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA) was passed in 2019 and established partnerships between county behavioral health departments and county offices of education across the state.
Together, the government agencies are responsible for developing and implementing new mental health services for students across California.
The County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services Department and the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) were awarded a four-year, $7 million MHSSA grant to be spent through the 2025 school year.
The wellness center at Black Mountain Middle School and other Poway Unified campuses are funded using some of that grant money.
SDCOE is funneling funding through its Creating Opportunities in Preventing and Eliminating Suicide (COPES) program.
It is a direct attempt to prevent and eliminate student suicides.
"Mental health and suicide ideation are on the rise for all kids," according to Heather Nemour, SDCOE Coordinator of Student Wellness & School Culture. She is leading the county’s plans for spending this grant money and supporting school districts that need guidance.
“They all say we don’t have enough mental health professionals. Frankly, they never will. What’s really critical and the research shows is that school climate is very much connected to mental health and wellness for students," Nemour said.
Major spending on the MHSSA grant has just begun. It will eventually benefit 470 schools across San Diego County.
That means more wellness rooms available for student well-being, modeled after the one at Black Mountain Middle School.
