A new mental health and wellness center is now open at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara.
San Marcos Sophomore Ava Jane Damery is one of several student leaders who helped bring the new campus wellness center to life, she tells me the idea is to give students resources for mental wellness, counseling, or just a place to relax.
"We’ve got some books over there, that’s how I destress is reading, so I’d probably pick up a book and take a couple of deep breaths," explains Damery.
This is the second wellness center to open in the Santa Barbara Unified School District following the opening of one at Dos Pablos High School in January.
"This is not just a student or a school issue, this is a community issue. It just shows up in our schools first." says State Senator Monique Limón.
In addition to wellness rooms, students from San Marcos and Dos Pueblos High School collaborated with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency for the installation of suicide prevention signs along nearby railroad tracks highlighting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
"The idea here was to offer those who may be in crisis, in and around the railroad tracks, an important connection to resources," said Jason Jewell with LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency.
These combined efforts called the "culture of care," are driven by student voices and community collaboration and address the urgent need for accessible mental health support in local schools.
"To be able to work with students and help them tell us how it is best to lead and how it is best to create spaces that are inclusive, that are healthy, that are supportive, I think is really key," said Senator Limón.
For Damery it’s knowing there’s support when you need it.
"Help is out there. Even though it's scary to ask. If we reach out, it is there," said Damery.
