Mental health is a term that has been thrown around the main stream loosely the last few years. Mental health is a concern among all races, age groups and genders. With the Covid-19 pandemic depression and other mental ailments have risen among the general populous. One overlooked group during Covid-19 is children. Lets take a closer look at how children are reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic. We know children are more impressionable which is a breeding ground for new traumas.
Children are use to playing with other kids, outside, play-dates, video games etc. Once schools reopen kids will need to readjust and according to mental health professionals they are expecting a rise in children counseling once school reopens. With mental health issues on the rise one area of concern appears to be staffing. There just isn’t enough counselors and mental health professionals available in the public school system.
Though the concern is valid we must state that not every child will pick up new traumas. However its important to realize that during the stay at home measures children will witness a rise in substance abuse and possibly violence in their parents/guardians. Prolonged exposure to traumatic incidents increases the chance of lifelong traumas for children.
Covid-19 promises new cases in mental health stress however the need for mental health attention and counselors is not new. According to 2017-18 data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, 7% of Californians stated their child has seen a mental health worker or counselor within the last year. Last year there were approximately 20,000 public school counselors serving 6.1 million children in the California public school system, with budget cuts on the horizon. This is a major concern for children reentering a newly configured school system that may be the “new normal”.
According to the LA Times “L.A. Unified is running a mental health hotline staffed 12 hours a day open to students, parents and school employees during the week, though they won’t turn away anyone asking for help. Since April 1, the line has received about 660 calls, mostly from teachers and parents, many seeking resources and mental health aid for themselves or their children. The number for the L.A. Unified hotline is (213) 241-3840.”
Source: LA Times
For PPE in Los Angeles, reach out to Terratori today .
