Student mental health challenged by COVID, recession and racism

Idle busses and empty classrooms are reminders of the scale of the education and healthcare void caused by the continued coronavirus shutdown.

Student mental health in Los Angeles is facing unprecedented challenges, according to Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health.

“Our students are under tremendous pressure,” she said. “Many were already dealing with inadequate access to mental healthcare and the impacts of poverty and racism. The isolation and economic hardships brought on by COVID-19 threaten to create a student mental health crisis in Los Angeles.

“Students miss the structure of school, their friends and their support system, including access to counseling and mental health treatment,” said Puffer. “Some students may be in stressful situations at home or even the targets of abuse. We must redouble our efforts to help them.”

New initiative

This fall The L.A. Trust will launch its Student Mental Health Initiative. The collaborative is funded by a $100,000 grant by Cedars-Sinai and a $50,000 grant by Health Net.

The initiative will train students as peer leaders through The L.A. Trust’s Student Advisory Boards, increasing awareness of symptoms like anxiety and depression, and building positive coping mechanisms and self-referrals to care. The initiative will foster student social media campaigns and conduct online trainings such as “First Aid for Mental Health,” scheduled for August.

“Student voices are critical in addressing mental health awareness and to ensure access to services,” said Pia V. Escudero, executive director of  Student Health & Human Services for Los Angeles Unified. “We are grateful for this grant opportunity that will lift stigma and access to services for students and families that need it the most.”

Puffer added that “as a backbone agency for student health in Los Angeles, The L.A. Trust has a unique role and responsibility. We are committed to lead on this issue, helping support students, family members, healthcare providers and LAUSD tackle these issues.”

Racism and mental health

Puffer noted that July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month and that racism must be factored into any discussion of student mental health. This is especially relevant in Los Angeles, where four out of every five LAUSD students is Latinx or Black.

A review of literature on the impact of racism on child health found that 11 out of 12 studies showed an association between racism and depression, while three studies showed an association between racism and anxiety. “We can’t ignore the impact of racism on the mental health of our students,” Puffer said. “Our programs, outreach and training must acknowledge the racism that many of our students live with every day.”

Resources available

Puffer saluted LAUSD Student Health and Human Services, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and other public and private organizations for adapting and expanding to serve students and family members during the COVID-19 crisis.

LAUSD Mental Health Hotline (213) 241-3840. Open weekdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is staffed by counselors and mental health professionals who can provide support in English and Spanish. Teachers can also call and get advice on how to connect their students to services. Questions can also be emailed to mentalhealth@lausd.net.

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (800) 854-7771. Open 24/7 for all mental health services.

2-1-1 Hotline. The central source for all health and human services support in Los Angeles County.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline English: (800) 273-8255 Español: (888) 628-9454.

Teen Line Text “TEEN” to 839863 between 6:00pm-9:00pm PT to speak to a teen.

Posted July 15, 2020 at 9:55 a.m.

Wellness Centers discuss COVID challenges at virtual collaborative

Pia V. Escudero of LAUSD Student Health and Human Services addressed more than 100 participants at The L.A. Trust’s online Learning Collaborative. 

Wellness Centers online meeting (recording)

Representatives from the Los Angeles student health community met online Thursday, May 7, 2020 at The L.A. Trust’s Wellness Center Learning Collaborative to discuss how to serve students and their families during the COVID-19 health emergency. More than 100 clinicians, educators and healthcare advocates attended.  

The coronavirus is impacting patients — and the clinics that serve them. Nine of the sixteen on-campus Wellness Centers have suspended operations (see list). Fewer students and community members are visiting clinics, putting their long-term health at risk. It also threatens the financial health of some clinics that have been serving high-need communities for years. 

Dr. Yohanna Barth-Rogers, chief medical officer of the UMMA Wellness Center at John C. Fremont High School in South Los Angeles, told the Learning Collaborative that her clinics were moving the majority of patient visits to video conferences and phone calls.  

In-person visits must be approved in advance and be deemed medically essential. Two of the needs deemed essential are vaccinations and contraception. 

One challenge is finding safe spaces to have sensitive conversations with students, she said. “My worry is that we’re missing things, such as violence in the home.” She said the clinic was developing ways to have confidential conversations with students during the coronavirus shut-down. 

Reaching out 

In addition to telehealth, clinic operators have been staying in touch with patients through community networks and social media. “Asian Pacific Healthcare Venture Inc., serving Belmont and John Marshall High Schools, cares about you,” they said in an email to The L.A. Trust. “If you have any health concerns, call us. We’ll make a telephone appointment to talk to a provider or get your medication refilled. We are also open for confidential services. Stay safe!” 

North Hills Wellness Center at James Monroe High School issued a “stay at home challenge” for students: “Eat an apple instead of chips. Get outdoors (with your mask on!). Follow a workout routine on FaceTime or YouTube. Learn a TikTok dance. Be creative and remember that social distancing and face coverings save lives!” 

Dr. Rosina Franco and Student Medical Services reported that while the Hollywood High Wellness Center was closed for safety reasons, “we are currently working on a re-entry plan for when schools, and our clinic, will re-open. In the meantime, please log on to the LAUSD SHHS webpage.” 

Education and healthcare meet COVID-19 head on

Los Angeles Unified has opened more than 60 Grab and Go food distribution sites to ensure students receive nutritious breakfast and lunch meals during the COVID-19 school closures. Superintendent Austin Beutner pictured center.

An unprecedented health crisis has been met with an unprecedented response from the Los Angeles healthcare and education communities.

“While the coronavirus mostly strikes adults, our kids are isolated and vulnerable right now,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “They are not in class. They miss their friends. And they are not getting the structure and services schools provide. We must support our students and families as they face this dual health and economic crisis.

“I applaud the students, teachers and leaders of L.A. Unified for adapting so quickly,” she said. “The resources the District has brought to bear — including nutrition, distance learning, and primary and mental health support, have been impressive. 

“I also want to salute the response of our healthcare partners. They are the first responders in this crisis, and they are working hard under difficult circumstances,” she said. 

How to give

Private donations are helping families with the greatest need. LAUSD has launched  Students Most in Need to provide food, learning materials and digital devices to students.

Twenty area nonprofits are supporting We’re One Family, Los Angeles, a fund to help families meet basic needs, including food, rent, gas, childcare and healthcare. As of March 23, the fund had raised $100,000 in just 72 hours. 

Get COVD-19 resources for California kids and families from Children Now.

Shutting down, ramping up

The Los Angeles Unified School District was one of the first in the nation to cancel classes to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus — and it moved quickly to fill the void. Within days of the shutdown LAUSD:

• Opened more than 60 food “grab and go” sites distributing nearly 250,000 meals daily.

• Deployed educational programming for hundreds of thousands of pre-K-12 students on the air. (Three PBS affiliates, — KCET, PBS SoCal and LAUSD station KCLS — will broadcast educational programming for all grade levels.)

• Launched instructional continuity classes and announced an agreement with Verizon to provide Internet connectivity for students who need it. The agreement is a key component in the district’s plan for students to continue learning as campuses remain closed in response to COVID-19.

• While LAUSD Student Health and Human Services has closed its LAUSD school-based clinics, many of the Student and Family Wellness Centers remain open to students and community members during the school closures. Visit our website for a complete list. They are also offering a wide range of services from its main hotline, (213) 443-1300 and website.

“The L.A. Trust is conducting day-to-day operations remotely and developing new curriculum and communications to support students and communities virtually while our schools are closed,” Puffer said. “We are laser-focused on the needs of our students and their families.”

Students find a healthcare home at LAUSD Wellness Centers

LAUSD’s network of Wellness Centers, like this one operated by South Central Family Health Center, are on the front lines of student and community health.

When a Delta 777 passenger plane dumped a load of aviation fuel over the Cudahy area last month, students at six LAUSD schools were affected—and the Wellness Center at Elizabeth Learning Center sprung into action.

The clinic, operated by South Central Family Health Center, offered free screenings to everyone in the community, regardless of insurance, immigration status or ability to pay. The clinic is part of Los Angeles Unified School District’s network of Student and Family Wellness Centers, which provide a healthcare home for students and community members in the district’s most underserved neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of students and community members rely on the clinics each year.

“When there’s an environmental emergency, a flu outbreak or a spike in STDs, the Wellness Centers often see it first,” said Maryjane Puffer, executive director of The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health. “They are on the front lines of student and community health, and the services they provide are indispensable. Nothing is more important to The L.A. Trust than supporting these clinics.”

Partners in health

The L.A. Trust provided direct financial support to the six original LAUSD school-based health clinics between 1994 and 2002. Since then it has worked closely with LAUSD Health and Human Services to support the development of 15 (soon to be 19) new school-based Wellness Centers, focusing on strategies to make them self-sufficient and sustainable. 

“Our Wellness Center support mission today includes a broad range of prevention programs, best practices and research,” Puffer said. She cited The L.A. Trust’s groundbreaking Data xChange initiative, student engagement efforts and Wellness Network Learning Collaborative workshops as examples of how The L.A. Trust supports the clinics.

The Wellness Center Network is overseen by LAUSD Health and Human Services, headed by Executive Director Pia V. Escudero. Professional services are provided by these Federally qualified health centers: Asian Pacific Healthcare Venture at Belmont; Eisner Health at Santee Education Complex; Kaiser Permanente, LAUSD Student Medical Services and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles at Hollywood High; Mission City Community Network at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies; Northeast Community Clinics at Gage Middle School; St. John’s Well Child and Family Center at Manual Arts High and Washington Prep; South Central Family Health Center at Elizabeth Learning Center and Jefferson High; South Bay Family Health Center at Carson High; T.H.E. (To Help Everyone) Health and Wellness Centers at Crenshaw High; UMMA Community Clinic at Fremont High; Valley Community Healthcare at North Hills-Monroe High; Via Care at Garfield High; and Watts Health at Jordan High and Locke Early Education Center. 

Primary care plus

In addition to primary and dental care, most LAUSD Wellness Centers provide mental health services to students and community members. LAUSD School Mental Health provides intervention, care and referral at the Belmont, Carson, Crenshaw, Elizabeth, Gage, Locke, Maywood and Washington Prep Wellness Centers.

Other mental health services providers include Aviva Family and Children’s Services at Hollywood High; Child and Family Guidance Center at North Hills-Monroe; Children’s Institute at Jordan; Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic at Manual Arts; and Weber Community Center at Fremont.

“Our kids hold all the promise in the world,” Puffer said. “Helping support them with access to care—whether it’s asthma, anxiety, depression or substance use—is part of the holistic wellness mission of The L.A. Trust. ”