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Supporting Mental Health, This Month and Year-Round
Dear New Yorkers,
In New York City Public Schools, we are focused on the mental and emotional well-being of our students throughout the year. But May is Mental Health Awareness Month, marking an important opportunity to talk to the young people in our lives, whether they are our children or our students, about mental health.
There are many effective strategies for boosting mental health, from journaling to mindfulness exercises to therapy. Unfortunately, mental health care, and specifically therapy, has not always been accessible or affordable. I want to highlight a few steps we are taking in New York City to change the status quo and ensure all our children have access to robust mental health supports.
First, we have NYC Teenspace, a recent initiative from the City’s Health Department and Talkspace, which offers free, live teletherapy to teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17. Since we launched this program, we’ve had 6,800 students sign up, with more students logging in every day. I encourage you to help us spread the word about this groundbreaking initiative. To learn more and enroll, teens should visit talkspace.com/nyc.
But Teenspace is only one tool in our toolkit. Across our schools, we also have approximately 5,000 social workers and school counselors; school-based mental health clinics in over 350 schools with plans to open more; and partnerships with over 150 community-based organizations that offer mental health programming in schools.
Whether a student you know is dealing with peer pressure, everyday stress, anxiety, depression, or any other mental health challenge, I encourage you to share the resources we have available at NYC Public Schools. Together, we can help our students lead healthier and happier lives—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Soaring high,
David C. Banks
Chancellor
Our Spotlight Video:
NYC Mayor’s Office | We got 6,800 NYC teens free therapy. Here’s how it’s going. ⬆️ | Instagram
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