HARRISBURG (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania’s teenagers say gun violence is all too common in their lives, and that schools should provide more counseling to help them cope with it. That’s one of the many things Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry learned during a series of four roundtable discussions she held at schools across the state — including Philadelphia — during the 2023-24 school year.
She took what she learned and put it into a “teenTALK” report that her office released on Tuesday.
Henry said at the report’s release that students want to know that school administrators are supporting them when facing instances or threats of gun violence.
“If students saw and reported threatening comments by schoolmates made on social media, they never knew what action – if anything – was taken,” she said. “And they found that to be incredibly distressing.”
Beyond being in the dark about reporting social media threats, students at schools where lockdowns occurred said they were rarely told why they happened.
“They felt that there was not enough transparency about what was happening. They craved information,” said Henry.
When it comes to available mental health services, students said there weren’t enough options, and that they often don’t get the adequate time they need to process the trauma from instances of gun violence.
“For many of these students, they need help processing things that have already happened, or that could happen tomorrow or next week. And they need that help now,” said Henry.
The PA Attorney General said the report was being issued at the end of the school year to give administrators time to review strategies to help students feel safer.