LA PUENTE – Bassett Unified students described how they benefited from on-campus mental health services during a recent round-table discussion with four members of Congress and L.A. County leaders.
US Reps. Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), and Alan S. Lowenthal (CA-47) along with L.A. County officials connected with students, staff and families at Nueva Vista and Bassett High School on May 29 to review long-standing youth suicide prevention programs.
“The discussion surrounding mental health, especially in the Latino community, has always carried a heavy stigma,” Board of Education President Dolores Rivera said. “This is why having Pacific Clinics counselors on campus is so important – they give our students access to the help they need, ultimately breaking that cycle of suicide due to a lack of resources.”
Bassett High School was one of three schools selected in 2001 for a federal pilot program to provide free, on-site mental health and suicide prevention services for students. Napolitano helped to secure the funds for the effort.
“We are grateful for the work of the Pacific Clinics counselors at our school sites who care for our students’ emotional and mental health needs,” Superintendent Debra French said. “Bassett Unified School District believes that students come first, and that applies to more than just their academic needs, but to their overall well-being.”
The program has since expanded to 35 schools throughout the San Gabriel Valley and southeast Los Angeles County. It serves as the model for H.R. 1109, the Mental Health Services for Students Act, which will revise and extend projects that will make mental health programs more accessible to students.
PHOTOS:
05-29-19_BASSETT_USREP_1: Nueva Vista High School students met with U.S. Reps. Grace F. Napolitano, Nanette Diaz Barragán and Alan S. Lowenthal to discuss the benefits of school-based mental health services May 29 on the Nueva Vista campus.
05-29-19_BASSETT_USREP_2: Bassett High School students met with U.S. Reps. Grace F. Napolitano, Nanette Diaz Barragán and Alan S. Lowenthal to discuss the benefits of school-based mental health services May 29 in the BHS Library.
Read more about Bassett Unified School District Here