Manchester, N.H. – In recognition of World Mental Health Day on October 10, students from across the Manchester School District are helping to launch a new campaign to better connect middle and high school students to emotional wellbeing and school safety resources. The campaign, entitled M-Power, is designed to promote youth mental health, reduce stigma, and encourage students to reach out and connect to services. The campaign also encourages students to speak up if there is knowledge of a threat to school safety or someone’s personal safety.
Funded through the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Project Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education (Project AWARE) five-year grant, Manchester School District is one of three districts across the state to receive this Federal funding and among 23 recipients nationally. The funding supports ongoing work to build the infrastructure and systems for NH’s Multi-Tiered System of Support for Behavioral Health and Wellness (MTSS-B) across the District. The MTSS-B framework is a data driven comprehensive system of social-emotional and behavioral supports to improve attendance, engagement in learning, and academic outcomes for all students.
“Implementing schoolwide mental health promotion and violence prevention practices is key to supporting the whole student,” said Stacy Champey, Project AWARE Director. “Therefore, this work is essential to improving education outcomes in Manchester public schools. We must increase awareness of available mental health and school safety resources while teaching students, parents, and staff how to best leverage them to improve access to services.”
District counselors have reported increases in anxiety and depression among students, especially since the pandemic. According to Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data, 36% of students surveyed in greater Manchester schools including Bedford, Goffstown and Manchester school districts, reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for two or more weeks in a row and nearly 55% of students reported they rarely or never seek out help.
“We must continue to build opportunities for communication between students, families and Manchester schools both individually and collectively,” said Dr. Jennifer Chmiel, Superintendent of Schools. “By operating at a district-wide level, in collaboration with the community, this multi-year effort is well-positioned to follow students as they progress through their local schools. If a deep sense of trust and understanding can be cultivated in middle school (or earlier), the greater the likelihood of students utilizing the resources available to them in a way that is timely, efficient, and impactful.”
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan visited Southside Middle School on October 7 to learn about M-Power and meet with students. During her visit she participated in a roundtable discussion with Manchester, Concord and Laconia school officials to discuss Project AWARE work across the state.
“I appreciated meeting with students and school officials to discuss the important work being done through the M-Power campaign to connect students to mental health resources,” said Senator Hassan. “I have heard from students, parents, and teachers about the need to strengthen support for our young people’s mental health. Programs like Project AWARE are making a real difference in raising awareness about mental health and helping students get necessary care.”
The Manchester School District is the largest school district in the state of New Hampshire, serving more than 12,000 students from pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The District includes 12 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 3 traditional high schools and a technical high school.
To learn more about M-Power visit MPowerManchester.org.