DURHAM, N.C. — A social worker in Durham is helping support children in handling their emotions while letting go of the stigma related to mental health. 

Every morning, Club Boulevard Elementary School Social Worker Symone Kiddoo does affirmations with her elementary school students as they arrive.

“They start with "I am kind, I can do great things, and I can ask for help,” Kiddoo says. “Some of the stigma related to mental health is that kids don’t always know that they should be asking for help outside of, 'I don’t know how to read this word,' but I am having some big emotions I don’t know how to deal with," Kiddoo said. 

Along with helping kids deal with those emotions, she also helps out in the resource room by packing bags that are sent home with kids who need them. The bags are sent home every week. 

“I think social work in general gives people the support they need to be happy and healthy," Kiddoo says. "Schools is a place where kids kind of learn how to be good to each other, but also good to themselves to try and have a generation of kids that are happy and healthy.”

Kiddoo acknowledges addressing the full needs of a student is complex, but also says fully staffing schools, even in the general classroom, with instructional assistants is one way to help.

“If there is someone having an emotional crisis or just needs a little extra love for the day, because we don’t have an instructional assistant in every single classroom, there’s not an extra person there," Kiddoo said. "They either have to wait until one of us is available. They have to either pull the classroom teacher from teaching the rest of the kids, or they just fall through the gap.”

Kiddoo has been in the social work field for seven years. 

She’s hopeful in the years to come, all of the conversation surrounding the needs of kids in schools will spur action from lawmakers. 

“Our kids deserve good, safe places to learn and grow as humans,” Kiddoo said.

The National Association of Social Workers says the standard ratio in schools should be one social worker for every 250 students. North Carolina does not come close to the ratio. 

There is current funding for school social workers in the two-year state budget cycle.