With the school year drawing to a close and summer vacation fast approaching, a group of eighth-graders at Halsted Middle School in Newton spent part of their Monday morning reflecting on why “the road to success is paved with failure.”
The most iconic public figures had a series of epic failures before they had successes, behavioral health educator Taisha Mathews told the class. Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections before becoming president. NBA great Michael Jordan wasn’t even selected to his high school varsity team. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz couldn’t get his cartoons featured in his high school yearbook.
So, you want to go to college, but “no one in your family has been to college, so you’re worried there’s too much you don’t know,” says behavioral health educator Ashley Sillon. And when faced with the complex college application process, “you feel nervous and overwhelmed.”
Cirone and her colleagues asked students to choose a strategy from a list that would help them overcome their anxiety in that moment. Try again. Connect. Stay calm. Take it one step at a time. Be yourself. Stay safe. Learn from it. Stay healthy.
“One step at a time!” cried one of the students.
“Why?” Mathieu retorted.
“To break it down into smaller pieces,” the student replied.
“Who can I turn to for help in a situation like this?” Mathieu asked.
“A trustworthy adult!” yelled another student.
The takeaway from the 45-minute exercise is that “resilience can be learned and practiced,” Cirone said.
That’s the same message behind the mission of New Jersey Student Support Services, an ambitious $43 million investment by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, suicide was the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24 in 2021. A New Jersey hospital network reported last year that the percentage of teens visiting emergency rooms with suicidal thoughts increased by more than 10% in 2021 and increased again in 2022. Feelings of isolation due to the pandemic were also a factor. A 2023 survey by The Trevor Project found that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people had seriously considered suicide in the past year.
The initiative pays nonprofits, such as the Mental Health Association of Morris-Essex County, where Cirone and Matthew are employed, to lead group discussions on mental health, resilience and positive program solutions for students, parents and educators both in and outside of the classroom.
The program is a cornerstone of a strategy for addressing the children’s mental health crisis that Governor Murphy shared with 12 other governors when he served as chairman of the National Governors Association last year.
The program cost $43 million to start this fiscal year, and the governor is requesting another $43 million to continue and expand the program in the new fiscal year that begins in July. Although the Murphy Child & Family Institute’s budget includes numerous multimillion-dollar requests, this is its most expensive initiative, according to budget documents.
It’s too early to gauge success, but preliminary enrollment numbers indicate strong interest.
The program, which the state Department of Children and Families launched at the start of the school year in September, led 3,390 group events at high schools, middle schools and elementary schools through May, said state spokesman Jason Butkowski, who said 136,500 students, educators and parents participated.
Another 2,947 middle and high school students participated in more intensive, proven prevention group programs addressing issues such as bullying and substance abuse. A third component offered short-term therapy sessions to 314 students while they waited for private psychiatric treatment, Butkowski said.
Monday’s lesson on resilience won’t appear on the final exam — it’s not technically part of the Sussex County Schools curriculum — but the 45-minute exercise is a crucial one that educators hope will stick with students as they enter high school and make important decisions about their futures.
The self-imposed and external pressures to succeed are intense, said Alexandra Zaki, a licensed clinical social worker with the Mental Health Association, who was at Halsted that day and met privately with students.
“It’s not enough to just get good grades anymore. You have to stand out, you have to join clubs, you have to participate in sports, you have to excel,” Zaki said. “Then you add in the social pressures of social media, because all the kids have it. I think there’s a lot of anxiety.”
Zaki added that fears around COVID-19 remain: “Going to school is still a challenge for many children. Many children are missing school.”
Tracy Kapitzel, program director for Morris and Sussex counties, said based on a needs assessment and the perspectives of community and school leaders who serve on the advisory group, absenteeism, bullying and suicide prevention were identified as key concerns for youth in Morris and Sussex counties.
Kapippisil said data analysts are creating surveys to gauge whether students understand the message of each lesson and what other topics they would like to explore.
The same structure exists in 15 community hubs across the state, with programs tailored to kids’ needs based on where they live, according to the state’s website. The state created a podcast to promote the program.
Commissioner for Children and Families Christine Norbutt-Beyer said early feedback from across the state has been very encouraging.
“We hear success stories every week. High school students in Mercer County are processing their emotions as they learn to write personal memoirs. School leaders in Camden County say (the program) has helped them overcome insurance, location, waitlist and language barriers to improve equitable access to health care,” Norbut Beyer told NJ Advance Media.
“Every community is different and has different needs…,” the commissioner said, adding that the program has an “advisory committee made up of local students, parents, clergy and community leaders. The hub looks at what is affecting young people and provides programming to address those issues.”
So far, students have been receptive, and the school’s guidance counselors are grateful, Kapitzel said. “There’s only so much guidance counselors and administrators can do. We can ease their burden,” she said. “We’re grateful that the state recognizes that our students are in a mental health crisis.”
The students they met represent a new generation’s thinking about mental health and wellness, said Carrie Parmelee, supervisory prevention consultant for the Mental Health Association, which also serves Morris and Sussex counties.
“They’re already very aware. There’s a lot less stigma than there was for our generation,” Parmelee said. Their mission is to reinforce the message that you can ask for help and that “you’re not alone.”
Kapippisil, 45, agreed: “When I was at school, I don’t think we would have talked about mental health. Maybe we would have talked about eating disorders.”
Through group activities and discussions, students learned the meaning of empathy — “How is my friend feeling?” — and the importance of being able to confide in at least one “trusted adult,” Parmelee said. These are important coping skills that can prevent students from falling into a dark, isolated place.
While there is much work to be done, Parmelee feels there is “a lot of hope” by addressing mental health as a preventative strategy.
“It’s really hard to know, are our young people going to be OK? I don’t think so, but they’re going to be OK,” she said.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be alleviated with appropriate mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988 or text TALK to 741741 to contact the Crisis Text Line.
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