A School District's Profound Impact on Mental Health

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Our children spend nearly one-third of their waking hours at school, presenting countless opportunities for positive interactions with trusted adults. In this episode of This Way Up, we discuss how the San Marcos Unified School District took this reality and turned it into an opportunity to dramatically expand mental health support for its students. Amid a growing mental health crisis and a mental health system struggling to keep up, the district—supported by the city of San Marcos —launched the 'Let's Face It Together' program.

The initiative strengthened existing resources like counselors and social workers, while introducing new support strategies such as a crisis text line (741741), Care Solace to assist families in navigating mental health care, and wellness teams that visit homes to connect with students and their families. By focusing on building a sense of connection and belonging, the program aims to make every student feel cared for.

This episode highlights the program’s profound impact, showing how a community came together to use school as not just a place of learning, but as a key source of support and care for students’ mental well-being.

BIO: 

As the Student Services Director in San Marcos Unified School District, Christi Frias is a dedicated advocate for mental health and student well-being. Throughout her career, she has worked tirelessly to create and implement programs and services that support student mental health and well-being. She is deeply passionate about promoting healthy and positive learning environments that foster student success. Mrs. Frias has experience working with a variety of stakeholders, including students, parents, faculty, and community members, to create meaningful change.

RESOURCES/ REFERENCES:

Let’s Face It Together: https://www.smusd.org/news/what_s_new/let_s_face_it__together_

Let’s Face It Together Resources: https://www.smusd.org/mentalhealth/teacherresources

Let’s Face It Together Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZISx4Y2cC8

Crisis Text Line 714714: https://www.crisistextline.org/

Care Solace: https://www.caresolace.org/

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