Quickly address mental health crisis in Lehigh Valley schools
“Studies and news reports paint a consistently alarming picture of the state of our kids’ mental health in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are experiencing greater stress and anxiety
... These conditions have both immediate effects (behavioral issues, deteriorating academic performance) and potential longterm consequences (prolonged exposure to chronic stress is shown to be detrimental to one’s lifelong physical and mental health).”
I wrote those words in a Morning Call guest column in September 2021, in which I called for policymakers to recognize the looming crisis in mental health that our children face as a result of COVID.
In November, The Morning Call published research from the nonprofit Lehigh Valley Justice Institute showing that coming out of the pandemic, students at area school districts are reporting increases in depression symptoms, suicidal ideation and selfharm at or above the estimated rate for schools throughout Pennsylvania. The research also showed that children suffering from these conditions are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors and to see their academic performance decline.
The data reinforces the findings of a study published in October by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in which 3 out of 4 young people reported experiencing at least one potentially traumatic event (known as an “adverse childhood experience”) during the pandemic. The CDC report noted that youth reporting ACEs were twice as likely to rate their own mental health as “poor,” and up to six times as likely to report suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the past year, as compared with those who did not report ACEs.
The research is clear: The COVID-19 pandemic was a public health emergency that threatened not just our physical health,
but the mental health of our children as well. And as we warned last year, it’s a threat that we have to take seriously now so that our children will not suffer long-term consequences.
But there is good news amid the crisis:
As the justice institute report notes, Liberty High School in Bethlehem is responding to the issues its students face in a comprehensive way that emphasizes the role trauma plays in mental health challenges. At KidsPeace, “trauma-informed
care” has been the standard for many years, and we applaud Liberty’s commitment in making it possible for students to access needed help within the school environment.
Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Legislature this year included a $100 million budget allocation specifically for in-school mental health support for schools around the commonwealth, along with increases in school security and adult mental health care funding.
These are positive developments, but they are just the start. We have to work to make sure students across Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley — in Easton, Bangor, Salisbury, Northern Lehigh, Allentown — can access the kind of help available to those at Liberty High School. And as a state we must address the continuing decline in availability of clinical mental health services, like those KidsPeace provides through its continuum of care — an access crunch driven by workforce shortages and antiquated financial support policies.
One important step would be for the incoming administration of Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro to relaunch Gov. Tom Wolf ’s “Reach Out PA: Your Mental Health Matters!” initiative, to bring together stakeholders in this issue — providers, public officials, school administrators, parents and experts — to find creative solutions for the staffing, access and funding issues that face Pennsylvania’s mental health care sector. This initiative addressed an important need before it was paused as a result of the pandemic; that need has only grown since then.
As an organization that provides treatment to thousands of Pennsylvania’s children every year, KidsPeace is committed to participating fully in a revitalized effort to make the Commonwealth’s mental health care system a positive model for our country — in the same way Liberty’s wellness center is a positive model for schools in our community.
A year ago, we sounded the alarm that the crisis is coming and urged our leaders to act. This year, we see the crisis is here and the need to act is even more urgent. Next year, when our children in need of help ask “What did you do when the crisis came for us?,” what will our answer be?