(LEX 18) — Many students across Kentucky have struggling stories with their mental health.
It's an issue that was brought into the spotlight during the pandemic and something Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, a former teacher, is trying to address.
“In a sixty-six percent increase in serious emotional disturbances in children and youth that we are serving and a fifty percent overall increase in the children we are serving just since COVID," said Randa Bush, the regional director of children services for New Vista.
“I had no training, I had nothing to prepare me for the mental health challenges that my students would be going through and looking back now. I want to make sure that’s not the case anymore.”
Coleman has been working with a group of students to make it easier for kids to get the help they need.
“I want to make sure every teacher understands the mental health crisis that our students are going through right now and how to recognize and refer those students to the places where they can get the most help," said Lt. Gov Coleman.
The Lt. Governor also helped bring in over $40 million that was allocated to mental health centers at schools, including bringing mental health counselors to help students access resources needed.
Those funds will be applied independently and developed by education cooperations before funds are rolled out throughout the region.
“The power of having that mental health consolers in that building is going to change the culture of not just that school building but the community as well," said Coleman.
“I know that if I had that in high school, it would of made the world of the difference to me," said Roxanne Lockard, a 2022 high school graduate.
And there are plenty of options available outside of school, as well.
The 9-8-8 crisis hotline went live last year. New Vista serves as one of the call centers for the hotline and they want you to keep one thing in mind.
“It's okay not to be okay. Like normalizing that we are all going through stuff and its okay you’re struggling also okay to reach out for help," said Bush.
“To remember that this is something literally everyone deals with like you’re not alone in this," said Lockard.
Helping every kid across Kentucky know they are not alone in their fight to feel accepted.
