Reimagining School Safety in San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- On Friday April 30th, 2021, student leaders with Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) and Inland Empire Prism Collective (IEPC) will host a youth-led conversation with San Bernardino Unified School District board members around access to mental health resources on their school campuses. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. via Zoom at: https://bit.ly/3mUluhK.

Now more than ever, students need support for their mental health needs. Covid 19 has proven to increase anxiety and depression in adults and children due to the mandatory social distancing, stay at home orders, and home circumstances youth have no control over. Youth leaders have been vocal advocates for properly equipped mental wellness centers to aid students in need within SBCUSD. Prior to Covid 19, students have been pressuring district leadership to allocate more funding to mental health resources because of the fear of mass shootings at schools across the nation. Over the past year, youth have also experienced trauma at large rates. From Covid 19 to police brutality, it is evident that students need these resources available to them to effectively handle the emotional impacts that these crises have had on them.

Many students within SBCUSD come from low income and marginalized backgrounds where access to mental health resources is often beyond their reach. By pushing forth this conversation, youth leaders are continuing to pave the way for the implementation of mental wellness centers by holding school board members accountable to allocating money towards the creation of these programs on all high school campuses and continuation schools within the district.

“As youth, we experience many forms of oppression that directly affect our mental health. Having mental wellness resources, such as therapists, available to us at our schools is a necessity for many of us that needs to be implemented as soon as possible.” – Scarlett Juarez, ICUC and IEPC Youth Leader

Author: WSS News