As we gear up for yet another holiday season, I’m certainly reflecting on all of the things and people I am grateful for, as you likely are too. But I have to admit, it can be really hard to enjoy this season of joy and thanks with so much trauma and
loss occurring all around us.
I recognize that my gratitude undoubtedly comes with a burden, as my heart resumes to ache for the young people we continue to lose at the mercy of gun violence and the emotional trauma associated in the aftermath of such violence. I think of my home state of Texas, in which 19 children were murdered at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde; the St. Louis Public Schools
community, who lost 15-year-old Alexandra Bell and educator Jean Kuczka; and more recently, the University of Virginia, at which three young Black men were murdered: D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis, Jr., and Devin Chandler. We know there are many more lives
lost and hurting communities all over the country that are in desperate need of healing and changed policies. If the pandemic taught us nothing, it at least made it evident that we have a long road ahead of us in addressing the unattended mental health
issues our young people face. While we have made some headway in changing the narrative around mental health issues through campaigns such as Seize the Awkward, Strength in Sharing, and IDONTMIND, we must urgently continue to educate our students and families about mental wellness (especially in communities of color), increase access
to resources, and become keenly aware of the signs when someone is not okay.
I know firsthand how overwhelming this can be in our field because we try to do so much, so fast, and let’s be honest, much of the time
with so little. The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) is striving to bring more resources, training, tools, and knowledge to our network to help you address the mental health concerns plaguing our students and we want to share a few resources
we curated in a thoughtful conversation with our Advisory Task Force members.
Tips to Implement in Your Daily Work and Programs
Through your FAFSA completion efforts, pay close attention to students’ responses and situations regarding their household. Helping a student complete a FAFSA can uncover some significant needs a student may be experiencing, such
as food and housing insecurities, or family trauma in the home, such as divorce.
Normalize raising awareness and access to resources broadly and inherently. Make it a part of your enrollment or onboarding process to share resources about mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention.
Share resource sheets as part of a welcome packet, with student interviews or family intake meetings, as part of video testimonies during your summer bridge workshops, embed them into your coaching/mentoring conversations, and leverage social
media to raise awareness. The Steve Fund has an excellent toolkit you can download, chock-full of one pagers and social media posts.
Have all of your team members, especially those in direct student-facing roles, list an emergency number in their out of office email messages during long breaks/holidays. You can use the national helpline which can reroute students to a local resource. You can find more numbers on the American Psychological Association’s web site. Remember, these numbers are likely for short-term
crises when you may not be available and can’t connect the student to a longer-term solution such as talk therapy. You’ll want to have a plan/protocol in place to follow up with a student who reaches out for help.
Resources to Increase Staff Knowledge and Skills
Mental Health America has several online screening tools that can help students determine whether they are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition.
The QPR Institute offers affordable online training and courses on suicide prevention.
Mental Health First Aid is skills-based training course that teaches participants to identify, understand, and respond to mental
health and substance use challenges. Online and in-person options are available, and you can search for course offerings by location.
Finally, while less of a resource and more of a call to action, we urge our members, especially those who are not designated as mandated reporters by way of a school or institution and/or have not received formal training, to not only seek this kind of
training, but to also develop safety and emergency protocols for your staff and students.
If you are an NCAN member with an operating budget of $2 million or less and interested in building your capacity to support students’ mental
wellness, you should consider applying for NCAN’s grant funded opportunity Supporting the Whole Student Through Mental Health and Wellbeing (funded by ECMC Foundation).
Applications are due December 1.
P.S., Don’t forget to take care of yourself too! Check out this video series by Dr. Gina Newsom of the Steve Fund, for helping you "go there"
with your own emotions to be sure you can be the healthiest version of yourself for our young people.
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