At Camarena Health, we know the teenagers in our community are under a lot of pressure, sometimes to the point of experiencing mental and behavioral health issues. And we know the stigmas attached to reaching out for help with those issues.
We’re aiming to remove those stigmas, and to give students the tools they need to help themselves and each other. That’s why, from our school-based health center at Madera South High School, we’re teaching tomorrow’s health professionals that it’s okay to reach out for support (and encourage others) when they need it.
In our classroom workshops and our campus health center, we’re guiding students through talking to each other about mental and behavioral health, and we’re encouraging them to disregard the stigmas attached to mental and behavioral health care.
“Behavioral and mental health issues can affect anyone, and it’s important to get help when you need it.”
By teaching MSHS students to spread this message, we hope we’ll be able to alleviate mental health issues in our community, and spark a conversation about the prevalence of issues like depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety without making students feel isolated or abnormal.
Because the fact is, behavioral and mental health issues can affect anyone. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five U.S. teenagers will experience a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. It’s only by accepting that fact, and talking about our children’s issues, that we can help them cope with and combat them.
So join us, and your children, in learning to talk about mental and behavioral health issues. Because while we’re proud to do our part on campus, your teens need your support just as much as they need ours and their peers’.
