Inland Empire School-Based Health Centers Coalition Symposium

This episode is a special one, as this is a recording of a student-led panel that took place at the second annual Inland Empire School-Based Health Centers Coalition Symposium. The student panel members are all students from the San Bernardino City Unified School District.

Where to find the School Health Connection Podcast:
SBCSS Website, Buzzsprout, Spotify, iHeart and Amazon Music
School-based Health Center information: California School-Based Health Alliance Visit Inland Empire School Health Coalition to join the Coalition Check out past recorded webinars on School-Based Health Centers: 2023-2024 2022-2023.
For more information on Healthy SBCSS, visit www.healthysbcss.net or contact Ms. Farrah Northcott, RD, Director, Healthy SBCSS by calling 909.386.2775 To contact today’s podcast host, please email: hector.murrieta@sbcusd.k12.ca.us If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Transcript

202510_Pod-SHC-StudentPanel

[00:00:00]  Hector - Moderator: Hello and welcome to episode six of the School Health Connection Podcast. My name is Hector Murrieta and I am your host. I'm also the proud principal of Sierra High School in the San Bernardino City Unified School District. A deep and heartfelt thank you to the California School-Based Health Alliance and the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools for making this podcast possible.

[00:00:29]  Hector - Moderator: Our Inland Empire School-Based Health Centers Coalition has nearly 300 members. The purpose of the Inland Empire School-Based Health Centers Coalition is to expand and support the school-based health center movement and to facilitate greater engagement, investment, and proliferation of school health services, all of which equate to greater access for you.

[00:00:53]  Hector - Moderator: In brainstorming topics for this year's slate of episodes, our steering committee wanted to give you an [00:01:00] opportunity to hear from students directly. This episode is a special one, as this is a recording of a student-led panel that took place at the second annual Inland Empire School-based Health Centers Coalition Symposium. The student panel members are all students from the San Bernardino City Unified School District.

[00:01:19]  Hector - Moderator: I was one of the moderators and the co-moderator was Marina Quintanilla from the California School-Based Health Alliance. We hope you enjoy.

[00:01:31] Juan - Student: Good morning. My name is Juan Alexandro Moreno. Um, I'm very excited to be here and, um, give you guys a voice, a representation I attend at Sierra High School. I am a part of the Sunshine Crew. And, um, honestly, ever since I joined it, it's brought out a person in me like that I haven't shown in so long.

[00:01:50] Juan - Student: Wonderful. So it is like, it makes me feel at home and very, very comfortable, I guess you could say.

[00:01:56]  Hector - Moderator: Thank you. 

[00:01:58] Carlos - Student: My name is Carlos Barrios. [00:02:00] I'm a student board member for San Bernardino City Unified School District with, um, Ivorion, I represent Cajon High School. So my task is basically just going around. Um, you know, I talk to different club presidents, um, leaders on campus.

[00:02:14] Carlos - Student: Um, I talked to a bunch of different students and I gather the general consensus of what the student voice is, what the students wanna see, um, you know, and different things like that. And I bring it to the district level so we can help implement change on that level. Um, a little more about me. Um, I also take the, I take the psychology pathway at my school.

[00:02:35] Carlos - Student: Um, I just got my teen mental health certification. Um, thank you guys. Um, so, you know, I, we have a similar program, um, to other schools, um, and other presenters here where we have peer-to-peer help, um, in support like that. And I've seen, you know, great changes so far. Um, and it. And if you're, you know, asking, Hey, you know, is the wellness center actually gonna be used if, you know, if it's implemented?[00:03:00] 

[00:03:00] Carlos - Student: It's yes. Like at my school, it's used and it helps and it supports a lot of students. 

[00:03:04] Ivorion - Student: Hello everyone. My name is Ivorion Jones. I'm a student at San Bernardino High School. I'm in my senior year of high school. I'm a student board member for the Board of Education at San Bernardino City Unified School District.

[00:03:14] Ivorion - Student: Along with Carlos and I, uh, I take this position very, uh, highly for myself. I am here to represent students all around my district. We have about. 45,000 students and I highly, uh, I'm happily to represent all of them, even in my school, outside of my school and wherever I go. I'm here today to speak about, uh, things that go on in my community that I recognize for myself and that I recognize amongst other students.

[00:03:37] Ivorion - Student: So this is, I'm. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here with all of you guys. Something that I've done before I became a student board member was invite two state representatives to my school who came and spoke to, uh, our juniors and seniors last year, during my junior year of high school. And they spoke with all the students who were able to gain, uh.

[00:03:55] Ivorion - Student: More of an insight with them and they were able to speak with them about how government works and how the legislative branch [00:04:00] works. It was State Senator Rosa Alicia Ochoa Bogue, an assembly member of James Ramos. So they were able to, students were able to learn the government and, and, and understand how it works and understand what's going on in their community around the state and in their city.

[00:04:11] Ivorion - Student: So thank you guys for attending today.

[00:04:18] Marina - Moderator: Yay. We're really excited to be here with our youth panelists. My name's Marina Quintanilla. Um, I work with the California School-Based Health Alliance. I'm the advocacy and strategic partnerships manager, uh, with the Alliance, and really excited to be sharing space with young people and listening for, um, listening to them and hearing their lived experiences and how impactful their voices are in the work that we do.

[00:04:39] Marina - Moderator: Um, so I'll get us started with a few questions, and I know you all introduce yourselves a little bit right now. Um, we're really curious to hear like, how did you become involved? Like you're now in the student board, you're in Sunshine Crew. Like how did you get involved? What made you like, show up to a meeting and say like, yes, I want to, um, show [00:05:00] up for this. 

[00:05:01] Ivorion - Student: Personally for me, what made me get involved was realizing a lot of students were able, were not able to speak up for themselves and they were not able to advocate for themselves and they were kind of stuck in a bubble.

[00:05:10] Ivorion - Student: And I had, and I would see students and I would talk to 'em and be like, Hey, like why do you not get involved? And they're like, it's hard, or I don't know how to do it and I don't know what to do. So I was like. How about I be the person to step up and be able to actually be a voice for them, to guide them in the right path, to be able to speak up for themselves and to be able to be that representation for them.

[00:05:26] Ivorion - Student: So that's, that is also why I do what I do and I do it out of the kindness of my heart to do it for other people. I'm not looking for any type of like, you know, recognition for it or anything. I just wanna be able to have have students and have the people around me in my community to be able to say that, Hey, this was someone.

[00:05:40] Ivorion - Student: Who, or I was able to be guided by someone to be able to be a voice for myself. And you know, that's just something why I did it and I proudly do it. I wanna keep doing it for the rest of my life.

[00:05:53] Carlos - Student: So for me, I, I think I kind of just looked around my community and I seen that, you know, help [00:06:00] was needed and not a lot of students are aware of the resources that are available to them. And you know. I looked at everything I had and I was grateful for what I had and the, the connections I had. And I decided, you know, if not me, then who else?

[00:06:13] Carlos - Student: And a big turning point was me, for me, is I went on this leadership camp, um, Santa Barbara for a few days and you know, a lot of times all those students are paying like thousands of dollars to get in there. I got in on a scholarship, luckily, and you know, you got kids from Irvine. Um, you know, across the country and, you know, like, um, those more wealthier cities, right?

[00:06:35] Carlos - Student: And I come from San Bernardino, it's a whole different ball game. And, you know, kids from across the state, you know, we're talking about what the, what students need, um, and what, what we need to see in our community. But it's only from the wealthy perspective, right? And so coming from San Bernardino, it was like, you know, they want to talk about homelessness and poverty and all this, but they don't actually have the representation there. And so for me, I felt [00:07:00] like I had the lived experiences, I have the drive to make change. So for me it was, it was more personal.

[00:07:13] Juan - Student: Hmm. Basically, so, um, I joined Sunshine Crew because my cousin Rick represent, Rick recommended it to me. He said, why don't you join sunshine crew? It is like a whole different experience. It's like a family. It makes you feel at home. It's like, just join it. You know? You might like it or not. Just give it a shot.

[00:07:34] Juan - Student: I go to my first meeting, it's a little bit chaotic, you know, everybody's getting like comfortable and in order, and then that's when Miss Abiles pulled me. Aside, and she started talking to me. She was like, oh, what's your name? You know, like, we met once, but I didn't get to fully understand and know who you are.

[00:07:52] Juan - Student: And I told her who I was and she told me, she's like, you seem very interested in this. And [00:08:00] I was, I was very like, like, how do you say it? Very locked in, I guess you could say. You know, like I was, it caught my attention. And then she told me about peer mentoring and how I should follow into those footsteps.

[00:08:15] Juan - Student: And maybe become a counselor or a therapist. And I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do. So like, this is perfectly for me. You know, I'm excited to take this road. And coming from someone who's been through a lot, growing up in a very bad area, and like a lot of people like us, they don't get representation.

[00:08:34] Juan - Student: Nobody understands them because the voices that are given to them is just people who have never been in those footsteps. They don't understand. They're just there, they're just being paid to talk for them. And that's about it. But me, like, I'm excited to speak up and give them that voice and, um, honestly, like this is a very good experience.

[00:08:57] Juan - Student: And hon, I'm sorry guys. I'm [00:09:00] nervous, but it's, but honestly, I had, as a kid, I had wish. Someone was there to understand us and listen to us, you know? But obviously it didn't happen. But now I am given the opportunity to do that, so. Take it while I can, you know?

[00:09:26]  Hector - Moderator: Thank you gentlemen for those, uh, deep, uh, reflections. So we know about the program that you're participating in, you've mentioned that. So tell, tell us, you know, what do you do in your, you know, in the program that you're participating in. So, in other words, what do you do in Sunshine Crew and what do you do as board members?

[00:09:45]  Hector - Moderator: Explain. Uh, to us. 

[00:09:47] Ivorion - Student: So personally for me, as a student board member, I sit on the board of education, on dias with the superintendent, the cabinet, and uh, and board members. And we sit here and we as students give a report each month or two times a month. [00:10:00] And we give what we feel is need, what needs to be shared, and what's going on in our district, whether it's good or bad.

[00:10:05] Ivorion - Student: And. I personally do it as a, like I said, I do it as the kindness of my heart and I want to be able to be that person for students and represent students. And not a lot of people are able to do that. 'cause you're seeing people who are in these big fancy titles and they have suits and you know, and it is all these people who are higher ups, you know, so it's like what?

[00:10:21] Ivorion - Student: Us as students who are coming in, in a new, in, in a new environment to sit with these people and we're like, we don't know 'em. They don't know us, and they're you. Some people don't ever get to meet their superintendent. Some people don't ever get to meet their board members. Some people don't ever get to meet the cabinet, some people.

[00:10:34] Ivorion - Student: So it's like, you know, I do it and uh, I do that. Like I said, sorry, I'm nervous, but I do that the kindness of my heart. And, you know, what we do is, uh, for example, Carlos and I, like I said, we give our report. Each month we're able to advocate for students, and Carlos is actually able to advocate for his school.

[00:10:50] Ivorion - Student: Hopefully he's able to tell you guys what he's done so far. I personally am starting to advocate for my school's gym to get a new reconstruction, as it hasn't been reconstruction reconstructed [00:11:00] in a while. So that's something that I'm personally, personally focusing on, as well as focusing on bringing more, uh, you more of a, uh of a buddy system for high school students and elementary middle school, middle school students.

[00:11:12] Ivorion - Student: I think it's important for us to be involved with the younger students. As many people focus on high school students as they're about to be adults, and it's like. What about the students who are younger? They do have a voice and they matter just as well as people who are older.

[00:11:23] Ivorion - Student: So that is something that I do personally. Yeah. 

[00:11:27] Carlos - Student: So me and Ivorion have pretty much the same role. Um, so I'm not gonna fully go over it, but I will add on a little bit more to that. You know, especially about, you know, talking to people with these high positions and you know, these long titles and all. Um, something I learned is they're human too.

[00:11:42] Carlos - Student: You know, they're, they're just as much as human as I am, so it's made me more comfortable. The more I'm able to talk with them and it makes me a better leader, the more I'm able to talk with them. Because I understand like they have emotions too. You know, they, they have the same wants and they see the community in the same way that I see the community.

[00:11:59] Carlos - Student: Um, [00:12:00] so it's definitely good to, good to talk with more people. Um, but a little bit more on what I've done because I feel like. My role as student board member kind of expands beyond, you know, just, I guess the criteria that I'm supposed to meet. Um, it, it goes into your daily lives and how you represent your school and, um, how you communicate with the people around your school.

[00:12:20] Carlos - Student: So, like for me, um, I started at thrift club at my school at Cajon and a big, a big thing initiative that we've been pushing for is making a safe closet. Pretty similar to the Olive branch, if you guys heard a little bit. Um, just, yeah. Woo, woo. Um, so just giving, giving kids free resources, like, you know, if you need clothes, if you need a backpack, if you need hygiene supplies, stuff like that.

[00:12:43] Carlos - Student: So I actually been in contact with, um, the Olive Branch and we've been communicating about, you know, resources and, you know, donations and stuff like that. Um, we recently raised around. Around a hundred backpacks from different nonprofits and stuff like that with school supplies. And so, you know, [00:13:00] having a role, you know, as a student board member is just, it's just the title, you know, it's, that's all it is, you know, and what you do with that role is up to you.

[00:13:09] Carlos - Student: And, you know, I'm lucky that I have this supposed title because it gives me, I guess, ways to connect to everybody, um, and actually share those resources to make sure that my community, my community feels heard. Yeah. 

[00:13:25] Juan - Student: So, um, basically what I do is for Sunshine Crew, we help make people feel at home, make them feel heard, comfortable enough to speak up and let us know if they are suffering, if they're going through something.

[00:13:41] Juan - Student: Honestly, I'm glad I'm able to do that as someone myself, you know, like I wish I had that. So me being able to reciprocate and give that back to people is, honestly, it makes me feel complete. I also becoming a peer mentor and I help students, you know, like [00:14:00] therapy. If they need resources or something, they, they can come talk to me or Miss Avios, you know, if they need, if they need it, they know where we are, you know, if they feel comfortable.

[00:14:10] Juan - Student: And also, I'm also a TA for, um, Mr. Nuwarner and Mr. Benecort. They help teach career counseling and a bit of psychology, you know. Here and there. It's like a, a mix of both. Honestly. I, I enjoy helping them being a TA and stuff. It's like, it's helpful translator, you know, he needs help. Any passing out work, stuff like that.

[00:14:39] Juan - Student: Mainly translating, mostly that. But, and then also, um, I, um, I assist with, um, this food drive. Like I stay there for like three hours most 'cause that's how long it takes us to get all the food out. Basically we get boxes and we start putting each [00:15:00] fruit and veggie in there and stack 'em and give 'em to the community.

[00:15:05] Juan - Student: Anybody who comes by and needs fruit and veggies and stuff like that, I'm happy to give it to them. Honestly, it makes me feel happy to see that and. It is, it, it's a lot of work. I'm not gonna lie with you. I, I be dirty sometimes, but it is worth it though. It's worth seeing those people's smile and their face uplift, receiving food, you know?

[00:15:29] Juan - Student: So it makes me happy. 

[00:15:30] Marina - Moderator: Thank Awesome. Well, thank you, uh, for sharing that and how you feel connected. Yes. Um, and it seems like y'all have pretty big roles that, um, you enjoy doing and enjoy doing for the community and for your peers. Um, I wanna hear a little bit more about the challenges that students face as it connects to mental health.

[00:15:52] Juan - Student: A lot of the times it could be they've never had someone there for them, they never had someone there ready [00:16:00] to listen and hear them out. I've noticed it a lot. A lot of students have told me they don't tell, you know. The counselor, whatever, they'll tell me personally. Then I get different opinions and they're like, it's mostly because we're not comfortable because we've never been given this help.

[00:16:17] Juan - Student: No one's ever made me feel heard or listened to, or, you know, someone's just there for me. And basically like being like, how do you say this? Um, I've seen a, I've known a student personally and he's told me. He was like, I'm gonna be honest. I don't, I don't feel like comfortable telling you this, but I'm going to because you know, hey, I trust you enough.

[00:16:47] Juan - Student: And he told me, he's like, I've never felt safe before. I've never felt welcomed or at home. This is my first time ever feeling like this. And so to feel [00:17:00] this, it's new to them. It's kind of uncomfortable, you know, they've never experienced this. It's new feelings. It's, it's a new change. And change is also like getting outta your comfort box.

[00:17:13] Juan - Student: So it's, it's a new start for them.

[00:17:18] Carlos - Student: Um, and for me, a big thing is the stigma of it. You know, a lot of times at homes, you know. The sad truth of it is a lot of families, um, especially the more traditional families, they don't talk about mental health. They don't even think it's real, you know? Um, so there, there's definitely a stigma behind it that goes even beyond home and into the classroom.

[00:17:40] Carlos - Student: You know, a lot of those kids, they're not. You know, if, if you bring up your mental health issue, they're gonna laugh or you know, they're gonna be like, oh, you know, he's, he's playing. So there's definitely that stigma behind it. And another big thing is having the right resources to reach out and knowing the resources.

[00:17:56] Carlos - Student: A lot of the time there are resources out there. It's just about [00:18:00] knowing where they are, how I can get to them. Um, and so that's another big problem. 

[00:18:05] Ivorion - Student: To piggyback off of both of what they said is that it starts off not feeling welcome on, on where you are and not feeling safe. And a lot of students were never able to get that.

[00:18:14] Ivorion - Student: Get someone who's able to step up and say, Hey, come into my classroom today. Hey, welcome to school. You know, a lot of students aren't able to get that, and I think it's important for people to actually have someone in their life, not even if it's a teacher, a counselor, just anybody, to make them feel welcome, to make them feel like.

[00:18:29] Ivorion - Student: To, to, uh, make 'em feel excited to see them and make them feel comfortable enough to express how they feel and be happy to see that person. And if they're, if they're feeling sad to go see that person still because they know that that person's gonna make them feel better at the end of the day. So I think the challenges that, the challenges that are mainly focused, that aren't talked about is that people are not having the people are not having that person, that support system in their life to, uh, be able to help them gain for mental health.

[00:18:54]  Hector - Moderator: Thank you gentlemen. Uh, that actually leads into, uh, our next one. And actually we heard some of this from [00:19:00] Dr. Bustani and in her work, uh, right. Uh, we heard it in her work in, uh, India. So this is all over, not just here. I mean, we see it all over the world. So you've, you've mentioned, um, what you've experienced and, and some things that, you know, make you connect.

[00:19:16]  Hector - Moderator: So for, for the folks that maybe, uh, don't work in schools, what does feeling supported or a sense of belonging. What, what does it actually look like for you, you know, specifically, um, what, what could a school do or what could a supporter of a school do to, to make students or to, you know, to help with that?

[00:19:38] Juan - Student: So, um, for Sunshine Crew, what we do is advocate it. We create posters, pins. Um, I've been trying to convince them to do morning announcements with it too, 'cause that that'll help them. I know like a lot of students don't listen to that stuff, but if we at least give it a shot and let 'em know like, hey, like the wellness center is here [00:20:00] for you.

[00:20:00] Juan - Student: Like, it takes time to get comfortable and speak up, but if you are ready, you know, we are here for you. Like, you know, don't be afraid. We understand what it's like to not be able to speak up when you want to, you know? But it's okay. Like we are here for you. And about a week ago, maybe, yeah, about a week ago we did this, um, what was it?

[00:20:23] Juan - Student: Um, this posters and like this little table basically. And we were just advocating suicide prevention month. We were advocating, like we were giving notes. I was going to different classrooms and around the whole campus, giving students like little. Notes like these, like folded up and it said positive words, words of affirmation, words that will help you say, Hey, like I needed this today.

[00:20:49] Juan - Student: You know, this made me feel happy. All this made me feel heard. That's something that I've seen. It helped a lot of students, a lot of them shoved it away, but I saw them reading [00:21:00] it on the low, so I was like, yeah, I saw that. It still works though. Like me personally, I think. Being able to advocate out in the public, in the quad of your district, I mean, your district, your campus, and just saying, oh, look at this.

[00:21:15] Juan - Student: Like, hey, like, we are here for you. You know, there's stuff we can do little, what is it, like little activities and stuff like that too. It helps it, it actually helps them, you know. Yeah. 

[00:21:30] Carlos - Student: Um, I think I, I like the word that, um. Uh, one of the presenters used earlier, multidimensional. I think that's definitely like the right approach to when you're talking about feeling belonging in a, in a environment.

[00:21:45] Carlos - Student: Um, because you definitely have to approach it at different aspects, you know, whether it's, you know, trying to reach to them at home with their families or trying to reach them at the campus. Um, I think a big. Impact is having a teacher that goes a little bit above their [00:22:00] role, having an educator or even, you know, even just someone on campus that you know, Hey, how was your day?

[00:22:05] Carlos - Student: You know, Hey, you know, if something's going wrong, you can always come talk to me whenever. You know, somebody that goes a little bit above the role just to make sure that that student is okay. That student feels like they're, they have a place where they can voice themselves. Um, a lot of the time, a lot of the time students at home, you know, maybe they don't have that sense of belonging.

[00:22:25] Carlos - Student: Maybe they don't, they don't feel that sense of belonging, and a lot of teachers don't realize that school is very influential on, on students. You know, like for me, I see my teachers more than I see my parents, you know, as a, as a student athlete. Like I'm with my coaches and my teachers, you know, I'm doing all these things and by the time I get home, you know, dinner's on the table, um, everyone's already eight, you know.

[00:22:45] Carlos - Student: Um, so a lot of the times I'm seeing my educators more than I'm actually seeing my family. So they don't realize how much of an influential role that they're having. And you know, a lot of times they're just being themselves. And those are the best ones. Those are the best teachers that are just being themselves by asking [00:23:00] me, Hey Carlos, how was your day?

[00:23:01] Carlos - Student: You know, Hey Carlos, um, I noticed that maybe you've been lacking on your assignments. You know, what's going on? So little things like that really create that environment for the student to feel like they belong. 

[00:23:14] Ivorion - Student: To piggyback off of what Carlos said, you know, we all go through school K through 12, we're there for the most part of your life.

[00:23:21] Ivorion - Student: Everyone goes through it. You all have to go through it. We are there. You see them more than your family. Like you said, I'm at school all the time. I have extracurricular clubs, ex you have sports, you know, you're with these people all the time, every day for the most of the year. From your kindergarten all the way to 12th grade, uh, on graduation day.

[00:23:37] Ivorion - Student: So I think it's important for a lot of educators, and not even just educator, but everyone in life to, you know, like I, I personally have a teacher who goes above and beyond and is actually able to. Create that safe space for students in her classroom where students are able to come all the time and, you know, speak with her.

[00:23:51] Ivorion - Student: She left our school for a year and when she came back, the first thing people recognized on the schedule was her name. And everybody's like, oh my gosh, she's back. It was all over social media. Everybody's [00:24:00] posting it, you know, like she's a teacher where everybody was happy to come back and when she came back the first day, we all like, ran to her classroom, was like, hi, how are you?

[00:24:07] Ivorion - Student: You know, she was excited to see everybody and sometimes, you know, uh, if I'm like. If I'm like stressed out in my day and I have a, I have a TA period, I usually go to her class and you know, it's a class for me to just sit through and able to talk to her. She sees me all over the, uh, social media counselor, the district.

[00:24:21] Ivorion - Student: So she's always like telling me, Hey everyone, I seen you, I seen you on this. And she's like, oh, I sent it to the other teacher. So they all seen you too. You know, so it's like, she's one of those teachers who's like really uplifts students and she used to be one of our soccer coaches. So a lot of the girls like really looked to look up, look forward to her for soccer.

[00:24:35] Ivorion - Student: You know, she's one of the teachers who are really able. And I think a lot of educators need, not even just educators, but people itself, like whether you're in a workforce or whether, you know, you're just in a regular community event, you know, you have to take the time to realize that some people just really need the, hello, how are you?

[00:24:49] Ivorion - Student: Or good morning, or, you know, how are you feeling today? Or, you know. Well, do you like this? Do you like that? You know, just simple conversation is really what matters the most. How I personally think, and that's personally how I felt supported. You know, it's [00:25:00] based off of educators. I have almost all the teachers that I personally have, I created bonds with.

[00:25:04] Ivorion - Student: So some of them, you know, I can talk to about what's going, what's going on in the world. Some I can talk about what's just going on in school. You know, a lot of them, you, you have to create bonds with them and teachers. I personally feel like teachers have to initiate that bond first. You know, it makes a student feel safe because we're walking into your classroom, walking.

[00:25:19] Ivorion - Student: We are walking into your environment that we, that we created. But this is what you are giving to us 'cause we look up to you guys. So I think that's very important. 

[00:25:28] Carlos - Student: And if I can add something, um, kind of building off of what Ivorion said is meeting students where they're at. I think that's a huge thing.

[00:25:34] Carlos - Student: 'cause a lot of times students don't know how to take that first step forward to asking for help. Or maybe they're too scared, you know, um, different, different factors. So meeting students where they're at and understanding that, you know, there's a lot of boundaries there and barriers there that they would have to overcome to go take that step forward.

[00:25:52] Carlos - Student: You know, so going out of, out of your way to reach that student to make sure that they're okay. It, it's super impactful. [00:26:00] 

[00:26:00] Marina - Moderator: Yeah. Thank you both for sharing and, um, for everyone who just shared, um, I think it's something that I wanna highlight is the, the connection piece, right? The need in connection. It doesn't matter if it is a teacher or like what the role of the person in this space is, right?

[00:26:18] Marina - Moderator: But being able to see students and connect with them in a genuine way, um, sounds pretty powerful. So thanks for sharing that. Um, and just a little bit about what you said, Carlos, you said, um, meeting students where they're at. Our question is, what makes it easier or hard for students to ask for help when they're struggling?

[00:26:35] Marina - Moderator: And sometimes maybe the student doesn't know that they're struggling, but like their grades are falling or they're not showing up for school. Like there are many things that they may be going through and they're not asking for help for many reasons. Um, so. Would you all be able to share, like what makes it easier or hard?

[00:26:52] Marina - Moderator: Like how can students access the services and the help that they need? 

[00:26:57] Ivorion - Student: Uh, for me personally, I think, like I've said already, you [00:27:00] know, that person recognizing, I think you really have to like, take the time to, like, once you meet somebody to recognize, and once you're spending time with that person, you really have to recognize like, and like see, see the body language that they give off when you first see them.

[00:27:11] Ivorion - Student: And it, it can kind of give you a say so, like, whether, how that person's feeling today. You know, a lot of people, you know, especially in the education environment, a lot of teachers go through students throughout their whole day. So sometimes a lot of teachers. I understand they can't recognize every student and recognize how that student's going today.

[00:27:25] Ivorion - Student: So they might go to a student and the student like, gives off a bad vibe and they're like, oh dang, I'm sorry. You know? Like, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't see that at first. So I understand that part, but I think it's really important to take, to take the time outta the day. You know, if you see somebody like having their head down or you see a student, you know, maybe not speaking today or you know, like just being able to take the time and be like, Hey, are you doing okay today?

[00:27:43] Ivorion - Student: Do you need this? Do you know? So it's like, it's little things that you know, that you that play into, that play into the big role when it comes to mental health and recognizing students who need help and who are wanting to ask for it or not is like really seeing, you know, is this, does this student need it?

[00:27:57] Ivorion - Student: You know, some students might not even show it, so that's another huge [00:28:00] factor. You know, some people are able to play, uh, what's it called, a joker face, I think. So, you know, it's, those are very big things that go on when it comes to that rule. 

[00:28:11] Carlos - Student: Yeah. I think, you know, as I said earlier, a big part of it is the stigma and you know, with that comes students don't wanna not be okay. You know, they want to tell themselves, okay, I got this, I got this. You know, even if you know your, your 10 assignments behind, you're like, okay, I can recover. You know, it's okay that, you know, sometimes every, we all like have our setbacks, you know? We all have our bad weeks, our bad months, you know, but we need to make it more, I guess understandable and accessible for students to be like, alright, I understand that. You know, I'm a little behind and I can get help. I can get support, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that at all. So making the resources available, right. Meeting students where they're at, and also breaking that stigma to make students understand like, it's okay. It's okay for me to ask for help. It's okay. 

[00:28:59] Juan - Student: Honestly, most of the [00:29:00] time it could be their environment. They're not used to, like I said, they're not used to. Having people say, I'm here for you. I can help you. Like I'm, I'm listening to you. You know, like, you're being heard. You know, they're not used to this stuff.

[00:29:14] Juan - Student: They're used to being shut away. A lot of the times their environment affects them so much where they're like, their parents are like, oh, like, okay, that's on you then. Or they're gonna say That's fake. See my mom, she was the type to say, that's just, that's fake. That's not true. Like the mental health stuff is just, it's crap.

[00:29:36] Juan - Student: It's not, it's not real. And I was like, okay, well you wouldn't know that. I mean, at the end of the day, it's your own emotions and what your thoughts are, what you go through every day that affects you. And it's gonna, maybe it brings you down. Maybe it can help you go forward. You know, a lot of times like me.

[00:29:58] Juan - Student: One time my mom, she [00:30:00] made me look, she lucky, made me mad. 'cause I told her, I was like, I want to become something that helps students with mental health. And she told me, she was like, that stuff's not even real though. It's just fake. And I was like, but how would you know that? I mean, at the end of the day, it's worth a shot and it's worth learning.

[00:30:18] Juan - Student: It's worth understanding. And honestly, like these students, they just said they've never received this type of help before. So they are, they're not used to it. It takes time for them to get comfortable. 

[00:30:33] Carlos - Student: And kind of to add on to what Juan said, you know, it, I, I had like similar parents, you know, they're like, oh, you know, you have your issue, you know, it's fake, blah, blah, blah.

[00:30:40] Carlos - Student: You know, they're not really too believing in mental health, you know? Um, and part of it that I realized is, you know, I see my mom, she has her struggles, she has her bad days and her good days. And so part of it is. It's a generational, I guess, trauma, you know, it's generational stigma that all they know is mental health isn't [00:31:00] real, you know?

[00:31:00] Carlos - Student: So I think taking that first step with our generation is definitely huge. So, you know, our kids and you know their kids, you know, they know what mental health is and you know, they're not just pushing aside their issues. 

[00:31:14]  Hector - Moderator: Wow powerful stuff, gentlemen. Thank you. Yes, go ahead please. So gentlemen, tell us if there's one thing you can change about how your school uh, supports student mental health, what would it be and why? So again, one thing, if your school can change one thing about how it supports student mental health, what would it be and why? 

[00:31:38] Ivorion - Student: I personally think one thing that, you know, uh. For example, uh, Cajon High School has a wellness center. Not every school is able to afford wellness centers.

[00:31:47] Ivorion - Student: You know, those are very expensive things to that cost. So I think what's very important is, you know, teacher's able to take the time out day to buy like little fidget things and have like little, little things in the class. And, uh, for example, we have a teacher in my school, he's also a coach [00:32:00] and he takes the time out to research da the database about students now.

[00:32:03] Ivorion - Student: And research and mental health and what goes on in certain groups of people's homes to actually understand how, what, you know, like not everybody goes to the same thing based off of your ethnicity or whatever group you followed through, but you know, he tries to find out the variant, the common factor of what goes on in students' home nowadays.

[00:32:19] Ivorion - Student: So he's able to buy like little fidget things and buy, for example, like little things on the table for people to mess around with while they're in class to keep them focused. 'cause he understands, like, you know, I didn't grow up in the same environment as these students. I didn't grow up with the same exact things that, that they went through.

[00:32:32] Ivorion - Student: So I want to research what they go through and mental health problems that they have and things that are able to fix and help what they go through. So I think it's important for like, not, like I said, not not a wellness center, but just, you know, while you're in a classroom to have like little things for students to be able to be able to keep their mind on track, but also if they have anxiety or if they're, uh you know, are nervous about things, are able, just have little things to just keep their mind off of what's going on outside of school and, you know, be able to, it plays a huge factor in the [00:33:00] class time and while you're learning in, in instructional periods. So. 

[00:33:04] Carlos - Student: I, I think for me, I really wish that, you know, more teachers would get training to spot the signs of mental health and, you know, so when a kid walks in, you know, you know, you can see he's frustrated, you know, maybe he might, you know, lash out, um, in class instead of, you know, just yelling at the kid or trying to discipline them right away.

[00:33:22] Carlos - Student: Understand that there's more behind that, there's more behind that lash out than just you know, anger, you know, there's, there's that bad day that they had, there's the passing of a family member, you know. So I think if teachers had that training to spot the signs, um, rather than just act on impulse, I think that would make a huge difference in the classroom.

[00:33:43] Juan - Student: Honestly, we have, like, what I would say is there's people there in Sunshine Crew who can help advocate it. What needs to, what needs to be different for us is probably just making sure the students listen. You know, a [00:34:00] lot of times people don't listen. They get stubborn and, you know, ignorant, I guess you could say, like a lot of people won't listen.

[00:34:07] Juan - Student: They don't, they'd just rather just block it out. So honestly, what we could do different is just get them to listen. That's it. Like honestly, the more people listen, the more it's known, the better it's advocated and all that, like literally. Being able to get them to listen. 

[00:34:28]  Hector - Moderator: I'm just glad he didn't say we need a new principal.

[00:34:31]  Hector - Moderator: Uh, change the principle. Alright, thank you gentlemen. To all of our listeners, I also want to extend an immense thank you for joining us and sharing this with others. These students and their testimonies remind us all why we do the work we do. We invite you to continue sharing and listening and we'll see you at the next episode of School Health Connection.