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This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
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Rural Schools Take on the Mental Health Crisis [1]
['Tim Walker', 'Senior Writer']
Date: 2023-11
When educators, parents, and students filed into the town hall center in Hamlin, W.Va., one day in April, they were determined and hopeful that they would change minds. The school board had recently announced plans to lay off the 10 social workers employed by Lincoln County public schools. The county, everyone was told, simply could not afford them.
Putting a price on children’s mental health seemed abhorrent. One by one, community members stood at the microphone and implored board members to find the money. The social workers were saving lives, and the students could not imagine facing the upcoming school year without them. Hamlin is the county seat and has a population of 1,040. Much of the county is marred by poverty, crime, and opioid addiction.
A student urges the board of education in Lincoln County, West Virginia, to keep all the school social workers on staff.
“The social workers speak to our kids every day,” says Catricia Martin of the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA). “They are an integral part of this community.”
Ten-year-old Grace told the board how her social worker helped her through post-traumatic stress disorder after a recent car accident. “If they take away these social workers, … people with depression and suicidal thoughts … suicide will increase,” she told a local TV reporter after the meeting, as she fought back tears. “It’s not OK!”
The school board listened impassively and expressed concern but said their hands were tied. The grant that paid for the positions had expired, and there were no available funds in the general budget. Anyway, there were other priorities—including the possibility of a new school sports complex. The county could keep one social worker. The other nine would have to go.
The school board’s decision was heartbreaking and gut-wrenching, says Cassie Stone, vice principal of Duval PK-8 school, in Hamlin.
“It felt like a slap in the face. The trauma our students are facing is very real. They can’t focus on learning. If we don’t give them the help and resources they need, many are not going to make it.”
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[1] Url:
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/rural-schools-take-mental-health-crisis
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