Kids, adults agree on wellness during Mental Health Awareness Month
May marks Mental Health Awareness Month across the nation, which has been observed since 1949 and offers an opportunity for local groups and stakeholders to raise awareness about the causes of mental instability and tools for a better well-being. School sites within Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) have not taken this month for granted, delivering powerful messages about the need for building a united community during the May 2 meeting of the SMMUSD Board of Education.
At the meeting, McKinley Elementary School Principal Daniela Wiener introduced a host of enrichment activities at the school site aimed at nurturing “all aspects” of a child, including intellectual, social-emotional, physical, creative and cultural needs. Wiener said that forging strong bonds between students, staff and parents is “baked into the ethos” of McKinley.
“Belonging is crucial for our well-being, [it] impacts our physical, emotional and mental health,” Wiener said. “A strong sense of belonging is linked to better well-being, while its absence can contribute to depression and anxiety. Therefore, nurturing belonging is vital for supporting our students [mental health].”
Enrichment activities at McKinley tap into student talents and interests, ranging from theater and visual arts to physical education and student clubs. Clubs, specifically those for 4th and 5th grade students, are taken up by staff volunteers who sponsor meetings tailored to support a “time of self-discovery.”
McKinley clubs include a student council, a “green team” where students initiate eco-friendly projects like lunchtime waste sorting and composting, a dance team, the McKinley Times newspaper, the inclusive space “rainbow club,” a Dungeons & Dragons club and a mindfulness club. Mindfulness meetings began at McKinley this year, with recess meetings consisting of learning self-regulation strategies that support improved self-esteem and stress management.
“These clubs are just a small part of the tremendous work that McKinley staff, parents and students do to bring a sense of belonging to our community,” Wiener added. “They also contribute to the sense of curiosity and empowerment we want our students to feel.”
Cultivating connection is one of the most important things one can do for their mental well-being, according to Jewish Family Service LA (JFSLA) Director of Mental Health Services Linda Gingras. JFSLA is one of the most prominent organizations in the area for providing life-improving services in mental health, special needs life skills and battling food insecurity.
“The first piece is to know or to build that feeling that you deserve to connect, and that it’s okay to reach out and to give yourself permission to connect [with] what is meaningful to you,” Gingras said. “For some people, they connect through volunteer work in organizations, through membership in clubs and [through] other civic activities. For somebody who’s really dealing with depression and is already being held down with those feelings, that might be a really big step.”
JFSLA’s core tenant is to build an “emotional wellness toolbox,” focusing on wellness topics like crisis management skills, building community connection and highlighting the idea of enjoyment and play in an adult world where those things may be neglected. Darcy Meehan, a JFSLA client, herself works in the mental health field but needed expansion of her toolbox after the sudden loss of a parent, entering a therapy program with the organization that has made her learn how to “grieve consciously.”
Meehan added that conversing with a licensed therapist has helped improve her well-being, feeling like JFSLA was “really present” with her and didn’t make her feel like “just being a number.”
“Talking about what matters to us, having conversations about core values and empowering people to get really clear on what their core values are is a way to create a really strong foundation for mental health … the more clear I am about what matters to me, or the kind of ways that I want to live my life, the more life makes sense or I have a sense of empowered control,” Meehan said.
