This school year a “near peer” mental health program is expanding from four to 18 states, according to Colorado Public Radio. Colorado was one of four pilot states, with more than 140 corps members supporting 4,500 students in the first year.
The program features the Youth Mental Health Corps, with young adults 18 to 24 working in schools and other centers to help connect students to mental health and other support. The program’s relationship-centered approach relies on the trust teenagers place in someone just a few years older.
The model addresses two issues: a youth mental health crisis and a shortage of behavioral health professionals in schools. Nearly one in four middle schoolers report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and 17 percent say they have seriously considered suicide, according to the latest Healthy Kids Colorado Survey.
“Having a program like this allows us to utilize the strengths of somebody who was not that long ago in the shoes of those students and can really relate to the things that they’re experiencing in a different way than someone who has gone through seven years of school and has their Master’s degrees and five years of experience,” says Vanessa Notman, associate executive director of Colorado Youth for a Change, the host organization for the Youth Mental Health Corps.
Corps members are not therapists or counselors. Their role is to be a resource for a student to get information when they are struggling with their mental health or struggling to connect to school.
Corps members who commit to one year of service receive two weeks of intensive training and monthly professional development. They learn about trauma-informed care, case management, and Mental Health First Aid.
One corps member in Colorado works with a caseload of 20 to 40 students, many of them absent about half of the time. She works to understand what the student is missing — basic needs at home or behavioral health matters, perhaps social emotional skills or goal setting.
Sometimes she provides resources to a family for transportation or food banks.
“My overall job is to make sure the students are not falling between the cracks and making sure that they’re getting everything they need to be at school and then to be healthy individuals,” she says.
She sees a lot of students unsure of what they’re feeling, not being able to control emotions. Instead of school staff disciplining a student who is acting out, “letting the student breathe, talking to them about what they’re feeling, can go a long way,” she says.
For examples, an evaluation report of central Denver’s Lake Middle School by the research group West Ed notes that challenges at the school — nearly 80 percent of students are Hispanic and nearly 90 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — are compounded by systemic issues students face outside of school, including family incarceration, substance abuse and trauma.
More than 50 students received individualized support in the first semester last year from corps member Josiah Sanchez.
School officials say Sanchez is someone the kids can relate to. He can be arranging tutoring for a student, arranging food or clothing assistance or mediating peer conflict. Students seek him out during passing periods.
“He’s doing something that’s winning their trust – that’s leadership,” says one teacher.
School administrators credit Sanchez’s daily presence with reducing behavioral referrals and improving absenteeism. More students began seeking out mental health support on their own.
“This role has helped me find my own voice,” Sanchez says. “I’ve learned that my presence matters. Seeing these students try, seeing them show up—that’s a big success.”
The Youth Mental Health Corps was launched by Pinterest and the Schultz Family Foundation.
Colorado Public Radio
