Mental Health: Awareness to Action

Today is Mental Health Action Day! This is the day is help shift our mental health culture from awareness to action. Together, we spread the message that we can take actions to improve our mental health just like our physical health. The theme for this year is connection as we continue to seek out ways to cope with loneliness stemming from the pandemic and turn to peer counseling to support their emotional wellbeing when struggling with isolation.

School health partners play a critical role in both awareness and actions around mental health for the school community. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 60% of youth have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience by 18 years old. ACEs can have lasting, negative effects on health and well-being, including toxic stress. This newsletter highlights resources that can help shift the conversation from mental health awareness to action.
Blog Post: May is Mental Health Awareness Month

By Linda B. Sheriff, Deputy Director at the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools 

We’ve all seen the headlines, if not witnessed it in schools – while student mental health challenges were high prior to COVID-19, there are recent reports that they have increased dramatically. Fear of COVID-19, the sickness and death of loved ones, isolation and lack of peer interactions, and dearth of physical activity and social, emotional, and behavioral learning have taken their toll. The ramifications are beginning to appear as anxiety and other mental and behavioral health challenges have increased among students (Hafstad & Augusti, 2021; Naff et al., 2022; Viner et al., 2022) and could be a signal that a students’ needs are not being met. Read more...
National Resources
Mental Health is Health
“Mental Health is Health” is an MTV Entertainment Group initiative rooted in the reality that we all have mental health and need to take care of it like we do our physical health. The initiative aims to normalize conversation, create a connection to resources and inspire action on mental health.
Key Approaches for Strengthening School Mental Health: A Primer & Resource Guide
Developed by the Department of Education, this school mental health (SMH) primer and resource guide is to assist state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) in identifying key approaches for addressing mental health concerns in schools, particularly those in rural and under-resourced areas. 
School Mental Health Quality Guide: Needs Assessment & Resource Mapping
is part of a collection of resources developed by the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine for The SHAPE System. The Quality Guides provide guidance to help school mental health systems advance the quality of their services and supports. This guide contains background information on needs assessment and resource mapping, best practices, possible action steps, examples from the field, and resources.
Grant Alerts
STEM Education Equity Advancement Program Grants | National Science Foundation (NSF)
Health equity and STEM Field Diversity Improvement Program Grants | Genentech and the Genentech Foundation
Funding to increase representation of communities of color in clinical research and to dismantle barriers to an inclusive and antiracist scientific and health care workforce. Learn more.
Deadline: June 3, 2022
Child Care Policy and Practice Research Grants | Administration for Children and Families
Funding to inform local and federal understanding about the efficacy of child care subsidy policies and practices to increase low-income families’ access to quality child care. Learn more.
Deadline: June 10, 2022
U.S. Venture/Schmidt Family Foundation (USV/SFF) Program Grants | USV/SFF
Funding to improve the quality of people’s lives, strengthen their communities, and help the disadvantaged. Also to be a catalyst for change, supporting self-sufficiency, community enrichment, and vulnerable populations. Learn more.
Deadline: July 15, 2022
Please note that CHHCS does not administer funding opportunities. Please refer to each organization for additional direction and details.
Job Opportunities
School-Based Physical Therapist | EDU Healthcare (Washington, DC)
School Counselor | Bay District Schools, Deer Point Elementary (Panama City, FL)
Responsible for possessing the knowledge, abilities, skills, and attitudes necessary to plan and evaluate result-based school counseling programs. Learn more.
School-Based Therapist | Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (Chicago, IL)
Responsible for facilitating referrals from the school as well as conducting mental health assessments and developing treatment plans for the students. Learn more.
Middle School (MS) / Upper School (US) Counselor | Sidwell Friends School (Washington, DC)
Responsible for working with students, faculty, and parents on issues affecting the mental health and general wellness of the school community and of the community at large. Learn more.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
May 24, 2022 | 3:00-4:00pm ET
Hosted by the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning
May 25, 2022 | 1:00-2:00pm ET
Hosted by Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTCN)
May 25, 2022 | 2:00-3:00pm ET
Hosted by the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport
The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS) Weekly Insider is a web-enhanced newsletter that offers news alerts, grant announcements and general web site updates delivered directly to your email box on a weekly basis. The Center is located at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
© 2021 Center for Health and Health Care in Schools