Subject:

Support proper mental health staffing in our schools!

Dear Legislator,

As a constituent who is extremely concerned over the growing mental health crisis affecting our youth, I support the development of state policies that help address those needs. The first step is to ensure that schools have enough mental health counselors to meet the emerging and complex needs of our students.

Students spend a fair amount of time in school, which offers mental health professionals the opportunity to observe, connect with and relate to each member of the student body. When these professionals are in our schools, they are more accessible to students who require or seek their assistance. Students are more likely to access mental health services if they are readily available to them.

With the proper, accessible support of a school's collective care team — school counselors, nurses, social workers and psychologists — students stand a greater chance of succeeding in their education and establishing a strong path to their futures. Unfortunately, the health and mental health needs of students far outweigh the number of trained professionals currently in schools who can support them. As such, I urge you to support legislation S.5024 (Jackson)/A.610 (Gonzalez-Rojas), which directs the New York State Education Department, in conjunction with the associations that represent school counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers, to create proper health and mental health professionals to student ratios for New York's public schools.

Thank you for your consideration of this vital request. I respectfully ask that you bring up this issue with your conference and I would greatly appreciate a response to this email.

Sincerely,

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