A year ago, local health professionals, philanthropists and educators came together to address rising numbers of young children experiencing a mental health crisis.
Hoping to make therapeutic services more accessible for families and to reach children before they reach the point of needing to visit an emergency room, Driscoll Children’s Hospital and Corpus Christi ISD partnered on a pilot program that has placed mental health professionals in six schools.
The program is funded by the Coastal Bend Community Foundation through an $800,000 grant from a local private estate and family foundation. This means the school district can devote financial resources to other priorities and programs.
Each of the six specialists now have full caseloads. They say they’re starting to see results.
Midway through the spring 2023 semester, mental health professionals began working in Moody High School and Mireles, Berlanga, Montclair, Shaw and Travis elementary schools.
“We’re providing individual therapy and group therapy to students at the schools to help them with their mental health struggles,” mental health specialist Angela Wallace said. Wallace is stationed at Moody High School.