NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City public school nurses are often the first point of contact for students struggling with mental health issues or emotional distress, prompting the creation of a new suicide-prevention training that must be completed by October, the Department of Education announced Tuesday.
The new standardized suicide-prevention training course was developed in association with the city’s Office of School Health, Department of Health and the Jed Foundation, a mental health nonprofit. It will provide NYC’s pre-K-12 teachers with an eight-module, 90-minute online course.
The DOH’s 2023 Teen Mental Health Survey found that 48% of teens experienced depressive symptoms, from mild to severe, and that nearly one in four teens needed or wanted mental health care in the last 12 months but did not get it.
“Our schools are not only centers of learning, but safe havens where our young people can find trusted adults and support for whatever may be going on in their lives,” Schools Chancellor David C. Banks said. “Our school nurses are champions of students’ well-being, and they must be equipped to jump into action and help any student calling out for it.”
There are approximately 1,500 NYC school nurses that support 1.1 million students, and the course will put them through scenario-based learning and the National Institute of Mental Health’s Ask Suicide-Screening Questions to prepare nurses to identify, screen and refer students who are at risk for suicide.
The program was first piloted in June, and to date, the DOE said that at least 375 nurses have completed the course, with ratings on ability to identify warning signs and risk factors of suicide up by an average of three points, on a 10 point scale, after training.
“JED is proud to partner with OSH and NYCPS to create a foundational training that will provide all school nurses in America's largest public school district with the knowledge they need to safeguard at-risk students and help prevent suicide,” JED’s senior vice president of academic programs Tony Walker said. “Through this comprehensive public health approach, we hope to empower school nurses to initiate potentially life-saving conversations and create healthier school communities.”
Earlier this year, the Adams administration filed a lawsuit against social media companies, claiming that they damage the mental health of children and launched NYC Teenspace, a free tele-mental health service that Mayor Eric Adams said has already supported over 1,800 youth seek help from licensed professionals.
NYCPS also has school-based mental health clinics in over 340 schools, including 17 new clinics this year and 20 more planned for the next.
“As a city, we are recognizing that mental health is health, and we need to give nurses as many tools as possible so that they can holistically work with the children in our schools,” Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said. “This training will help them develop their abilities to recognize distress and step in, as a trusted adult, if they see a student who is hurting.”
If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that JED has school-based mental health clinics in over 340 schools. This initiative is run by NYCPS.