Before the novel coronavirus closed schools across the state, New York led the nation in tackling mental health in their classrooms.

Now, with more students staying at home and more in need of these services, the state and advocates are assessing how to deliver mental health care.

Mental Health Advocates of New York State hosted Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul to help understand how this pandemic is impacting students and how schools can maintain these services during a time of social distancing.

“It’s not just taking them out of school, it is being surrounded by a fear of losing their parents, losing their grandparents, losing their own lives or their friends,” she said. “They don’t know where this ends. All they know is that there is something really bad going on in the world and they can’t control it.” 

School was the best place for many students to learn how to cope with mental health challenges in life before the pandemic and it’s just as important to teach these skills now in New York, said Hochul. 

“We have this one-time opportunity to figure out the strategy of how we identify young people who no longer will be able to continue a normal life,” she said. “They may be impacted psychologically, emotionally for a long time because of this incredible disruption.”

To learn more about what Mental Health Advocates of New York State does to promote mental health wellness in schools, click here.