across the country and found more than half are not happy with the current resources available to address mental health issues in children and teens.Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region
"I always talk about the fact that first aid is taught pretty widespread, right? We have all heard some kind of way about how to do chest compressions until 911 arrives. And so this course is designed similarly to teach people how to do the metaphor ‘chest compressions’ until they can get the youth connected to their next best step,” said Dr. Summer Rose, chief clinical officer for Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region."That might look like plugging them into resources.
"The rates for youth suicide have skyrocketed and that's not something that anybody wants to see, right? That's not a number that we want to see continue to go up. And so I think that that is a piece of this course that people really, really connect to,” said Dr. Rose."One thing that I think is always kind of monumental – and when you kind of see the light bulb go off when people are in this class – is around understanding the signs and symptoms of suicide.
The non-profit is in partnership with fourteen area school districts and has staff placed within a total of 130 elementary, middle, and high school campuses to address the issues that place a child on the Texas Education Agency’s statewide “at-risk” list.