|
Mental Health |
We all have mental health. Whether or not we are struggling or doing fine, this is something with which we need to pay attention. Our teens can be moody and have hard times. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they have mental health problems. They can benefit from having someone to talk to. Sometimes extra support is simply what is needed. But constantly labeling people (that they must have a mental health problem for wanting to talk with a therapist) maintains the stigma. Reframing the way that we talk about it can reduce the stigma and increase access for the help that is needed. This is just a part of health.
- Dr. Alysha Thompson, Clinical Director & Attending Psychologist/Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit, Seattle Children's Hospital and panelist at our Mental Health Symposium.
- Dr. Alysha Thompson, Clinical Director & Attending Psychologist/Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit, Seattle Children's Hospital and panelist at our Mental Health Symposium.
Upcoming meetings
All meetings are free and open to the public, you do not have to be a committee member.
Stronger Together meetings
|
Tuesday, March 26th, 6:30-8:00pm
|
A parent testimonial from our first meeting on November 27th:
"I went to Stronger Together tonight and it was so valuable! These are parents whose children are experiencing mental health challenges and doing their best to navigate the school system, their parenting dynamics, their jobs, and themselves while keeping their kiddos mental health forefront in their minds. I walked away with a feeling of solidarity, of connection, and most importantly, the awareness that there is no right or wrong way to do this parenting thing… so long as we’re leading with love.
If you’re feeling alone and confused about parenting a child with any mental health challenges, or even just curious about other perspectives around parenting, I would strongly invite you to join the next meeting!!"
"I went to Stronger Together tonight and it was so valuable! These are parents whose children are experiencing mental health challenges and doing their best to navigate the school system, their parenting dynamics, their jobs, and themselves while keeping their kiddos mental health forefront in their minds. I walked away with a feeling of solidarity, of connection, and most importantly, the awareness that there is no right or wrong way to do this parenting thing… so long as we’re leading with love.
If you’re feeling alone and confused about parenting a child with any mental health challenges, or even just curious about other perspectives around parenting, I would strongly invite you to join the next meeting!!"
Legislative priorities
On January 15th, we met with Representatives Cindy Ryu (on left) and Lauren Davis (on right) from Shoreline to share student stories and to advocate for better mental health support in our schools.
Mental Health Grants for 2023-24 school year
|
|
The Shoreline PTA Council’s Mental Health Committee has allocated $5000 to support mental health initiatives in our school district for the 2023-24 school year. The winners are (from left to right):
|
Goals
The goals of this committee are to reduce negative stereotypes and stigma around mental health for our families and students by:
- Educating about the importance of mental health through informational flyers, speakers, training, and movies.
- Advocating for better mental health support and funding at the district, local, state and national levels.
- Support each other with caregiver connect groups to caregivers/families with disabilities, IEP's and 504 plans, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+, foster care, multilingual and families experiencing homelessness.
Resource List
We recognize how helpful it is to learn more about mental health conditions, talk to someone in confidence or join a support group. Here is our NEW RESOURCE LIST for families and students to use. If you have any updates or suggestions for this list, please email us.
Here is our PRINTABLE RESOURCE CARDS to post up in your community.
Here is our PRINTABLE RESOURCE CARDS to post up in your community.
How can my child get help at school?
Shoreline school district provides mental health supports at schools in the following ways:
NOTE: In 2022, the school board approved Policy 3122, allowing students excused absences for mental health wellness.
To learn more about curriculum, resources and supports in our school district, listen to Counselor Paige Robson from LFP Elementary and Christina Yiatchos from Center for Human Services speak in our January 2024 committee meeting (starting at 13:30) HERE.
If your student has recently received a mental health diagnosis and could benefit from having an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or 504 plan, talk to your school counselor. You can also learn more about IEP and 504's in this video from Shoreline Special Education PTSA's December 2023 meeting: https://youtu.be/Ud-od0pynME
- Each school has a school counselor. You can find who they are by checking your school's webpage and then select "Programs & Services", then "Counseling Services".
- Our middle and high schools also have onsite mental health therapists to meet with students during the school day. These services are provided by Ryther and Center for Health Services. To connect with one of these therapists, please contact your students' counselor.
- Our high schools have a partnership with UW Forefront and have trained students to be peer to peer support. Tell your teen to contact their counselor to know who they are.
- Encourage your student to talk to their teacher or another trusted staff person for support.
NOTE: In 2022, the school board approved Policy 3122, allowing students excused absences for mental health wellness.
To learn more about curriculum, resources and supports in our school district, listen to Counselor Paige Robson from LFP Elementary and Christina Yiatchos from Center for Human Services speak in our January 2024 committee meeting (starting at 13:30) HERE.
If your student has recently received a mental health diagnosis and could benefit from having an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or 504 plan, talk to your school counselor. You can also learn more about IEP and 504's in this video from Shoreline Special Education PTSA's December 2023 meeting: https://youtu.be/Ud-od0pynME
Past Events
NAMI Seattle Ending the Silence Training
On February 8th, we partnered with NAMI Seattle to provide the Ending the Silence Training to parents/caregivers. This engaging evidence-based presentation taught audience members about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if a student or loved one begins showing symptoms of a mental health condition. This one hour presentation for adults with middle or high school-aged youth, taught the warning signs, facts, and statistics, how to talk with your child, and how to work with school staff.
On February 8th, we partnered with NAMI Seattle to provide the Ending the Silence Training to parents/caregivers. This engaging evidence-based presentation taught audience members about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if a student or loved one begins showing symptoms of a mental health condition. This one hour presentation for adults with middle or high school-aged youth, taught the warning signs, facts, and statistics, how to talk with your child, and how to work with school staff.
Mental Health Symposium
On October 25th, the Shoreline Room was filled to listen to students and professionals speak about the current mental health challenges and opportunities in our school district. It also featured a resource fair with these partners: City of Shoreline, NUHSA, Seattle Children's Hospital, Center for Human Services, Moms Demand Action, PFLAG, Korean Community Service Center, Shoreline Special Education PTSA, Shoreline PTA Council, LETI Washington, Uplift Teens Today author Tannvi Arekapudi, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Project Girl and 988 Lifeline. We thank our community for coming out to start these conversations to build a healthier community.
A summary of the meeting can be seen HERE.
Photos from the evening can be seen HERE.
On October 25th, the Shoreline Room was filled to listen to students and professionals speak about the current mental health challenges and opportunities in our school district. It also featured a resource fair with these partners: City of Shoreline, NUHSA, Seattle Children's Hospital, Center for Human Services, Moms Demand Action, PFLAG, Korean Community Service Center, Shoreline Special Education PTSA, Shoreline PTA Council, LETI Washington, Uplift Teens Today author Tannvi Arekapudi, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Project Girl and 988 Lifeline. We thank our community for coming out to start these conversations to build a healthier community.
A summary of the meeting can be seen HERE.
Photos from the evening can be seen HERE.
Managing Your Teens Screen Time with Michelle Brode
On February 28th, Michelle talked about optimizing opportunity and reducing risk around technology.
It with deep regret due to a technical issue, that the audio in the video recording of this event was not captured. We sincerely apologize for this error and will hope you will refer to the slides and resource document below.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
A list of helpful resources is HERE.
On February 28th, Michelle talked about optimizing opportunity and reducing risk around technology.
It with deep regret due to a technical issue, that the audio in the video recording of this event was not captured. We sincerely apologize for this error and will hope you will refer to the slides and resource document below.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
A list of helpful resources is HERE.
Supporting teen anxiety with David Lewis
On November 9th, David spoke at Kellogg Middle school about how parents/caregivers can support our teens with anxiety.
The recording of the meeting is HERE.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
On November 9th, David spoke at Kellogg Middle school about how parents/caregivers can support our teens with anxiety.
The recording of the meeting is HERE.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders Mental Health discussion with Lynette Pang
On May 31st, in collaboration with the City of Shoreline and Shoreline PTA Council's Mental Health Committee, this free webinar presented historical and current issues that have impacted Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and their mental wellness in our multicultural and multigenerational society.
The recording of the meeting is HERE.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
And a list of books, movies and tv shows about AANHPI mental health is HERE.
On May 31st, in collaboration with the City of Shoreline and Shoreline PTA Council's Mental Health Committee, this free webinar presented historical and current issues that have impacted Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and their mental wellness in our multicultural and multigenerational society.
The recording of the meeting is HERE.
Slide deck from the presentation is HERE.
And a list of books, movies and tv shows about AANHPI mental health is HERE.
Accomplishments
Here's some highlights so far:
2024:
2024:
- March: we communicated our crisis support fund plan to our PTA Presidents, all school Principals, Assistant Principals and Deans. These funds would be used to support a school following the death of a student, school shooting or other traumatic event that greatly affects the student body. You can read about these funds HERE.
- January: we met with Representatives Ryu and Davis in Olympia to advocate for more mental health funding and programming in our schools.
- December 2023: Our committee's work was recognized as a nominee by NUHSA for Outstanding Human Service Program. You can read about this nominee and other winners HERE.
- December 2023: We granted six Shoreline School district employees $5000 in grants to fund mental health initiatives in their schools. Details are in our press release HERE.
- December 2023: We kicked off our Stronger Together parent/guardian group.
- October 2023: held our first Mental Health Symposium for our school district that elevated student voices, shared resources and provided information about systems and curriculum in place today. A summary of the evening is HERE. Photos from the evening can be seen HERE.
- Sept 2023: founded a new grant program to award $5000 to district staff promoting mental health initiatives.
- June 2023: NAMI Walks participant.
- May 2023: Award Winner from the Puget Sound Educational Service District for our outstanding community leadership and service to education.
- February 2023: We welcomed over 100 parents/caregivers to Einstein Middle School to hear Michelle Brode speak about helping our teens with screen time. Slide deck from the presentation is HERE and a list of helpful resources is HERE.
- February 2023: Met with Washington State Representatives Lauren Davis and Cindy Ryu to advocate for passing important mental health bills. Pictured are (left to right are Co-Chair Jen Cohen, Joe Cunningham, Lanaya Waldron and Representative Lauren Davis from Shoreline. Here's a list of the BILLS WE ARE WATCHING.
- December 2022: had our first hybrid committee meeting (summaries and slides below).
- November 2022: hosted our first in person parent/caregiver speaker David Lewis at Kellogg MS about how to support your teen with their anxiety.
- October 2022: advocated for Policy 3122 for excused absences for mental health wellness with our Shoreline PTA Council board of directors and all PTA's in our district.
- September 2022: created a comprehensive mental health resource list for our community. Distributed it widely to our PTA's and district wide via PeachJar.
- June 2022: Started our first first caregiver connection listening session for our AANHPI community.
- May 2022: Planned our first parent education webinar with community partner City of Shoreline about AANHPI mental health. Summary and slides are above under Past Events. And participated in the school district interviews of new mental health agencies.
- May 2022: We were invited to assist our district to interview in-school therapy groups for consideration.
- Spring 2022: We had our first two meetings (summaries and slides below).
- February 2022: The Shoreline PTA Council board members introduced this committee to the Superintendent and School Board Directors. Read it HERE.
Committee Meeting summaries
JANUARY 11, 2024
Guest speakers: Paige Robson (LFP Elementary school counselor) and Christina Yiatchos (Therapist and Manager with Center for Human Services) discussed curriculum and systems in our schools to support our students social and emotional learning. Here is the meeting recording.
DECEMBER 15, 2023
Guest speaker: Representative Lauren Davis (32nd District) discussed how we can use our voices for better state mental health funding and support in our school district and bills to keep our eyes on in the upcoming legislative session. Here is the meeting recording.
MAY 8, 2023
Our second planning meeting for our mental health symposium on October 25th. Here's a summary of the meeting.
APRIL 3, 2023
Our first planning meeting for our fall Youth Mental Health Town Hall meeting where we outlined our goals, audience, speakers, date and location. Here's a summary of the meeting.
MARCH 9, 2023
Held at Shorewood High School library with guest speakers: School Counselor Hannah Sands and students from LifeSavers club discussed their perspective of how mental health is going and what could be improved. Here's is a summary of the meeting This meeting was not recorded.
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Held at Shorecrest High School library with guest speakers: School Counselor Wendy Friedman and students from the HOSA club discussed their perspective of how mental health is going and what could be improved. Here's is a summary of the meeting This meeting was not recorded.
DECEMBER 6, 2022
We had our first hybrid meeting on December 6th at the Shoreline Center with guests Trish Campbell, Executive Director of Student Services and Cassie Porter, Student Services Coordinator. Here's is a summary of the meeting and the meeting recording - you need to email [email protected] for the video passcode.
APRIL 7, 2022
We had our second meeting on April 7th. Here's a link to the meeting slides. If you would like a meeting recording, please email [email protected]
We still need help with:
MARCH 2, 2022
We received an overwhelming number of replies and had our first meeting on March 2, 2022. Here's the link to the meeting slides. If you would like to hear the meeting recording, please email [email protected].
Guest speakers: Paige Robson (LFP Elementary school counselor) and Christina Yiatchos (Therapist and Manager with Center for Human Services) discussed curriculum and systems in our schools to support our students social and emotional learning. Here is the meeting recording.
DECEMBER 15, 2023
Guest speaker: Representative Lauren Davis (32nd District) discussed how we can use our voices for better state mental health funding and support in our school district and bills to keep our eyes on in the upcoming legislative session. Here is the meeting recording.
MAY 8, 2023
Our second planning meeting for our mental health symposium on October 25th. Here's a summary of the meeting.
APRIL 3, 2023
Our first planning meeting for our fall Youth Mental Health Town Hall meeting where we outlined our goals, audience, speakers, date and location. Here's a summary of the meeting.
MARCH 9, 2023
Held at Shorewood High School library with guest speakers: School Counselor Hannah Sands and students from LifeSavers club discussed their perspective of how mental health is going and what could be improved. Here's is a summary of the meeting This meeting was not recorded.
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Held at Shorecrest High School library with guest speakers: School Counselor Wendy Friedman and students from the HOSA club discussed their perspective of how mental health is going and what could be improved. Here's is a summary of the meeting This meeting was not recorded.
DECEMBER 6, 2022
We had our first hybrid meeting on December 6th at the Shoreline Center with guests Trish Campbell, Executive Director of Student Services and Cassie Porter, Student Services Coordinator. Here's is a summary of the meeting and the meeting recording - you need to email [email protected] for the video passcode.
APRIL 7, 2022
We had our second meeting on April 7th. Here's a link to the meeting slides. If you would like a meeting recording, please email [email protected]
We still need help with:
- A Co-Chair to lead meetings, strategize and coordinate
- Leaders to take the Educate and Support groups into action (lead meetings and strategize actions around these goals)
- Weebly expert to help design and update this webpage
MARCH 2, 2022
We received an overwhelming number of replies and had our first meeting on March 2, 2022. Here's the link to the meeting slides. If you would like to hear the meeting recording, please email [email protected].
Join us on social media!
Facebook group: Breaking The Mental Health Stigma For Shoreline Schools (www.facebook.com/groups/BreakTheStigma4SSD)
Instagram: BreakTheStigma4SSD (@ShorelinePTAMH)
You can email us at [email protected]
Instagram: BreakTheStigma4SSD (@ShorelinePTAMH)
You can email us at [email protected]
The Shoreline PTA Council Mental Health Committee does not endorse or refer persons to therapeutic services or recommend any medical diagnosis or treatment.
Get on our mailing list!
We have an amazing group of volunteers who help this committee. If you would like to join us, we are looking for volunteers who are:
To get on our mailing list and join please complete this confidential survey: https://tinyurl.com/MHCSurvey2
- Identify as a person of color, LGBTQIA2+, are bilingual or in a multicultural environment.
- Collaborative to coordinate speakers events and movie screenings.
- Passionate to advocate for better health outcomes for our students and families/caregivers.
- Comfortable speaking to parents or student groups about why mental health matters from your personal experience.
To get on our mailing list and join please complete this confidential survey: https://tinyurl.com/MHCSurvey2