While many individuals and organizations commemorate national monthly themes (i.e. Financial Literacy Month, Skin Cancer Awareness Month, etc.) with commemorations or proclamations, Communities In Schools of Houston (CIS), an educational nonprofit, is planning to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month (May) with tangible, student-serving actions.
As part of a national campaign by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), CIS will engage in actions to better meet the healthcare needs of students in its orbit centered around the campaign theme “Take the Moment.”
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. In May, CIS team members will be raising awareness across campuses about the importance of good mental health, including coordinated activities, encouraging students to “take a moment” daily to prioritize their mental health.
CIS, which celebrates 13 years since the launch of its Mental Health Initiative (MHI), is the largest provider of school mental health services in the Harris County area. With the MHI, CIS has been able to implement targeted efforts to collectively address the growing mental health needs on CIS campuses.
CIS serves 163 school campuses in six school districts across Greater Houston. At least one full-time CIS staff member (Student Support Specialist) on each partner campus ensures basic needs are met, delivering direct services, providing mental health services, and connecting students and families with much-needed community resources.
During the 2022-2023 school year, CIS mental health professionals served 7,569 students and CIS mental health partners served 642 students on 100 campuses, totaling 25,740 hours of mental health support for CIS students.
“Based on current research, mental health issues continue to increase among students in Harris County, Texas and across the nation,” says Shubhra Endley, LCSW-S, CIS of Houston’s director of mental health & wellness. “Possible factors that contribute to this may include the intersection of adverse childhood experiences with the social determinants of health such as lack of community resources, academic pressures, loss of a loved one and bullying at school and on social media.”
Systemic barriers to [mental health services] access result in too many children experiencing their first care in a juvenile justice facility or an emergency room.
“CIS mental health staff and our mental health partners step in to bridge the gap with students and their families by developing strategies for good mental health,” Endley continues. She notes that CIS of Houston has made it a priority to ensure all campus-based staff members are trained in trauma-informed practices, Mental Health First Aid and suicide prevention strategies every year.
The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute estimates nearly 310,000 children and youth in Harris County suffer from some form of mental health disorder annually, with just under 250,000 with mild to moderate needs and just under 65,000 with severe needs. Of those children with severe needs, 35,000 live in poverty and 4,000 are at high risk of out-of-home or out-of-school placement. Systemic barriers to access result in too many children experiencing their first care in a juvenile justice facility or an emergency room.
Early intervention and use of mental health services, from elementary school through college, is the key to success in getting students on a healthy track mentally, physically and emotionally.
“Students with unmet mental health needs risk school failure, social isolation and dropping out unless their problems are addressed by caring adults,” Endley says. “Our mental health professionals use evidence-based interventions to help students develop coping skills to manage mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and trauma. Additionally, these professionals are trained in supporting students in their grief journeys after the loss of a loved one.”
According to the Texas Education Agency, school is the primary space where mental illness and social-emotional challenges are identified and addressed, outside of a student’s home. Nearly 70% of students who receive mental health interventions access these services at school.
For more information or to donate to CIS’s efforts, visit .
