East Valley parents call for CVUSD to do more for students’ mental health wellness
Some East Valley parents called for the Coachella Valley Unified School District to do more for their children's mental health.
Parents gathered at the Guadalupe Family Center in Mecca to raise their voices, calling for enforcement of an agreement adopted last year by the school board on the issue.
"About mental health, specifically the 'wellness centers,' which in fact, last year was approved in the budget for these centers to already be open, said Monica Galvez, a parent of a CVUSD student.
Galvez is referring to a contract approved in May 2021 that would open mental health centers in CVUSD's middle and high schools.
"These wellness centers are important to me personally, as a mom, our kids are going through a lot of changes, we're living in a pandemic, they're stressed," Galvez said.
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According to the school district, only one mental health wellness center has opened at Desert Mirage High School.
This has Galvez unhappy.
"They need a safe place for them to go, to relax to go about their day, so they can continue their academic education," Galvez said.
Galvez is now just waiting for someone in the community to answer the call.
"I know that out there in our community there are many mental health professionals who come to the district, who apply," Galvez said
CVUSD officials issued the following statement in response:
"Coachella Vally Unified School District is committed to providing our students and community the mental health services they need to achieve fulfillment and success. CVUSD requested a bid proposal for school-based mental health about three years ago. Through the bidding process, Riverside Latino Commission has selected the contract. Through this partnership, we've been able to offer free mental health services to our students and their families through Riverside County Latino Commission. As of this new school year, we've been able to add an additional therapist at each of the high schools and every elementary school now has its own therapist. This is thanks to the feedback we received from our students, parents, and community. With this feedback, we also realized the need for a Wellness Center in secondary schools.
This service became possible thanks to the feedback we've obtained through surveys, community comments, and community meetings. Our first Wellness Center became available to Desert Mirage High School students about two to three months ago. Students scan a QR code that is posted all over campus and can access the services offered through our Wellness Center. This center is staffed by a teacher and a lead mentor to service the needs of our students at that school site. Coachella Valley High School's Wellness Center hired a staff member about two months ago but we are waiting for him to be released from his previous district so he can join our team. CVHS has a lead mentor who helps students get connected to the community, school, and district resources. Our delay in opening all of our centers at once has been the lack of applicants for this position.
To promote our services our mental health campaign began over a year ago to ensure that our families were able to access the services we offered. We've communicated with families via phone calls, emails, text messages, flyers, billboards, advertising campaigns, and referrals from school and district staff.
Most recently this morning, ICUC was given a tour of our newest Wellness Center in Desert Mirage High School (ICUC parent leader Monica Galvez and her team can be seen below). We hope our efforts continue to provide the services our students and families need..
