HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — This week, Varina High School is hosting a meeting for families who may not know where to start when it comes to addressing their child's mental health needs.
Varina High School will host "Raising Resilient Kids: A Parent's Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing" on Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium.
The event will provide tips on how to know if a child is going through a mental health crisis and will host a Q&A for families who may have questions about how to get their child mental health care either through the district or through a private provider.
"Parents are also not aware that there are free mental health information, or resources they can utilize, in regard to a crisis," said Deidre Harris, a family advocate with Varina High School who's coordinating the event.
It comes at a time when the county, like many districts across the nation, saw a spike in cases of anxiety and depression among students during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We've seen some increases in suicidal ideation and suicide risk screening completions or threat assessment completions," said Elizabeth Parker, Henrico County's Director of Student Support and Wellness. "Those are just some of the things that alerted us to the need to do something more."
This year, Henrico County launched Henrico Cares, a partnership between Henrico County Government, the school division, and community and private partners, to get more mental health and social workers into the school system.
In August, HCPS launched Care Solace, a free program that helps families navigate what their student needs and schedules appointments for them.
"We actually have been up and running with Care Solace for a little less than 2 months and we have already seen 145 first successful initiated appointments and sessions, and if you know anything about mental health care, you know that long waitlists tends to be a barrier, but with Care Solace, we have cut that wait time significantly down for our students and families to access services," Parker said.
Students in grades 9-12, like the ones at Varina High School, can access free virtual counseling services through Hazel Health.
Parker said the wrap-around approach is proving successful.
“This has really launched and maintained a high number of folks that are using services, which is so, so exciting, as those numbers continue to grow each and every day, which is something that we look for and something we hope to continue," Parker said.
The meeting at Varina High School on Wednesday evening is open to all.
What are your thoughts on the Henrico County school district's mental health services? Has your family utilized them? Do you have any questions or concerns? Share your thoughts with the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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