Enumclaw School District to work with two new mental health counselors, thanks to local nonprofit
Enumclaw Courier-HeraldMay 19, 2021
Mental health matters — that's why the
Although the counselors are expected to be hired by the end of May, this has been a three-year process, starting when the local nonprofit performed a 2018 Middle School Needs Assessment for both ESD and the
According to the results of that assessment, the
That same year, the state
That survey revealed that 28 percent of
Similarly, 38 percent of eighth graders, 57 percent of 10th graders, and 54 percent of 12th graders reported being "not able to stop or control worrying" in the past two weeks prior to when they took the survey.
The survey also asked these students about whether they considered or attempted suicide.
According to survey results, 8 percent of eighth graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 23 percent of 12th graders made a suicide plan in 2018; 6 percent of eighth graders, 16 percent of 10th graders, and 11 percent of 12th graders actually attempted suicide that year.
Although the data is a little dated, Stratton and the RFWF believes that the numbers have only increased, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, despite these survey results, the
"Most large grant opportunities require that," she said. "So it's been a real challenge in our community for a long time."
Earlier this year, though, the city of Enumclaw stepped in with a funding opportunity for the
"We have great agencies in our community, specifically Valley Cities and the YMCA… that offer some in-school counseling from time-to-time," Stratton said in a later interview with the
While some students can afford to wait for mental health services, other cannot, Stratton continued. Unfortunately,
Luckily, the RFWF has found other funding partners in the Plateau community, including the city of Black Diamond (
"These counselors will have dedicated counseling space in the schools, and they'll work with the school staff — predominantly the school's guidance counselors, but also teachers and other staff — to field student referrals and be able to serve them immediately," Stratton said, adding that the plan is to have one counselor field both middle schools, and the second focus solely on
"This could change, based on the skill sets and experience and opinions of the counselors that we onboard," Stratton continued.
Of course, the
"Multiple of these funding partners have voiced interest in continuing [the program]," Stratton said. "From our perspective, we don't want to do a 'once-and-done' solution. We want an ongoing, sustainable solution."
Dr.
"We are grateful that our partners with the
OTHER RFWF NEWS
Throughout the pandemic, the
Now that more people are becoming vaccinated, though, services are looking to get back to normal.
For example, the Full Bellies program — which provides a hot meal to anyone in need on Thursdays at
Additionally, the pandemic forced the RFWF to stop delivering hot meals to seniors at their homes, and had to deliver mostly frozen food instead; Stratton said she's hoping to resume hot meal delivery by July.
And even though the winter holiday season is half a year away, the annual Holiday Fantasy fundraiser is already being planned, and will look a bit different than past years.
Traditionally, Holiday Fantasy was held at Emerald Downs, and was a purely in-person event. Of course, last year, the fundraiser had to be 100 percent online.
This year, though, Holiday Fantasy is planned to be held at the local
Finally, the