The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute (TNS)
In 2021, more than 4 in 10 students (42%) across the nation felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health.
In 2021, more than 1 in 5 students (22%) seriously considered attempting suicide and 1 in 10 (10%) attempted suicide.
Sobering, isn’t it?
Yet this is the reality, according to the latest data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of adolescents reporting poor mental health is increasing; building strong bonds and connecting to youth can protect their mental health; and school staff and families can create protective relationships with students and help them grow into healthy adulthood, according to recent CDC reporting.
Fortunately, the Terre Haute community is aware of this great need and is consistently acting on it.
A prime example was $150,000 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds the Vigo County Commissioners provided to the Vigo County School Corp. during last week’s school board meeting. Earlier this year, the Vigo County Council had approved the appropriation.
The funds will go to Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education), a program that encompasses a comprehensive range of activities including mental health promotion, awareness, prevention, intervention and resilience-building. The program is dedicated to erasing the stigma associated with mental health issues and reshaping mental health education practices within the school system.
“As social media use increases and as we continue recovering from a worldwide pandemic, mental health supports have become even more critical for many in our community,” Vigo County School Corp. Superintendent Chris Himsel said in a news release.
Project AWARE was originally part of a five-year, $2.8-million federal grant aimed at better responding to the mental health needs of schoolchildren. Vigo was one of three districts chosen by the Indiana Department of Education to receive Project AWARE funding, which has now run dry. In the past five years, Project AWARE programs were recognized as exceptional and Vigo was held up as a shining star in implementing the funding.
Meanwhile, the school district is still trying to support the mental health needs of its students.
Two pilot programs were discussed at a mental health roundtable presented by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch last month. One at Terre Haute North Vigo High School is already underway and one has been approved with a social worker at Terre Haute South High School.
The goal is to have three pilot programs at the high schools, one with a therapist, one with a social worker and the last with a clinic, but Himsel said at the roundtable that it’s difficult to make the programs sustainable given limited budgets.
Difficult indeed. However, the need is being realized and action taken.
“Investments in our community’s children strengthen our community, and it will help us sustain the many great things happening throughout Vigo County to help our community achieve even greater levels of excellence,” Himsel said about the ARPA money.
Himsel is right. Without spending the time and money now on our children, the future could look bleak. Taking the time to invest in their social and emotional well-being means the future will be full of well-adjusted adults able to tackle problems of their time.
This community should continue to search for the means to make that happen.
