Parents at Madison City schools learn about mental health resources for their children | Huntsville

Parents now have new resources to help their children struggling with mental health issues.

Schools in the city of Madison held the “Mental Health Matters” event on Tuesday to teach parents about community resources to meet their child’s mental health needs.

“I have a fourth-grade student who suffers from anxiety, and of course, thanks to COVID, it got worse,” says Jessica, a parent of a Madison City Schools student.

Jessica says the Madison City Schools Counseling Services has been a great help to her son, but she is at a loss as to how to help him around the house.

“He has a counselor at school that he works with on a regular basis, so I’m here to figure out what else I can do at home. Because she’s been so great at school with him and it gets him through his tough days. I don’t know how to do that at home, that’s why it’s important to me,” Jessica says of why she attended the mental health fair.

The City of Madison Schools Mental Health Services Coordinator organized the event to help parents like Jessica.

“Schools are a place where we see children every day, so it’s a great place to be able to have resources and be able to talk and communicate and learn what we can do to help meet the mental health needs of our students,” says Stephanie Allen, Mental Health Services Coordinator.

By knowing the resources available in the community, parents can better support their children.

“Knowing what’s out there, hearing from the professionals, knowing that there are ways to help him, uh, and places I can tell him to go get help, which is really important,” says Stephanie. Moore-Mitchell, a Madison City School Parent.

She is grateful to the school system for organizing the event, saying, “It means the world, to know that the superintendent and everyone are truly there for our children and there to help them thrive and succeed. anyway, not just academically, but you know emotionally.”

This was Madison City Schools’ first mental health event, but the mental health services coordinator says after seeing the support from all the parents, she hopes to plan many more in the future.