By Mary O’KEEFE

On Monday night the Crescenta Valley Town Council hosted a town hall meeting at the La Crescenta Library concerning mental health. A panel presented information and answered questions. It consisted of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Glendale Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Vivian Ekchian and James Coomes, LA County of Mental Health lead manager.

Barger said the topic of mental health and children is near to her heart. She relayed a story that stretched back 25 years ago when she was handling policy for former LA County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

“A woman named Bonnie Armstrong, who was on the Pasadena Unified School District board, felt there was a correlation between those in elementary school who were acting out and those who were getting expelled or not [completing] high school. So we put together a program in Pasadena that addressed kids in elementary school who were acting out,” Barger said.

They found the kids were having issues at home; the program was designed to help children in school and family life. Those children who were helped graduated, she said.

“I know the value of mental health and know the need,” she said.

The need for attention to mental health was especially noticeable during the pandemic, which emphasized mental health challenges as lines to clinic access grew long. Barger said the good thing was people were coming for help; the bad thing was there were long lines to access that help.

Barger and Coomes spoke of the shortage of trained clinicians.

“There is a clinical shortage, a shortage of beds and we have a definite need,” she said.

Barger is working with the federal government in dealing with the clinical shortage. She also said getting over the stigma of asking for help was important.

“It is okay to ask for help,” she said.

Superintendent Ekchian praised Barger and her office staff for their help, both in the present and during the pandemic.

“[They] stood by our side throughout the pandemic,” she sad.

Dr. Ekchian said the school board’s priorities have not changed since last year. They include maximizing student achievement, fostering a positive culture of learning, ensuring the health and safety of students and employees and maintaining district financial responsibility.

“Our students can’t learn if they are not in an environment that is conducive for learning, and certainly they cannot learn in an environment if it is not safe and healthy,” she said. “Those require resources, which goes straight to our financial responsibility.”

She added the district spent every dollar for kids they received over the pandemic. They were able to help kids by offering testing on their campuses five days a week for almost two and a half years. They also expanded their GUSD mental health services by hiring 20 additional support providers.

Dr. Ekchian said one of the positive aspects of the pandemic was the way the stigma of mental health had changed. It allowed everyone to talk freely about the need for mental health, and now mindfulness is a daily part of student’s lives.

“There is no shame in asking for help and our families are an extended unit of our schools,” she said. “We don’t separate our students by saying you get this [help] at school but what happens at home is not our business – go find someone else. We are building those bridges very carefully.”

Dr. Ilin Magran is the director of Student Wellness Services Dept. at GUSD. She presented the district’s services including individual counseling, group counseling, mental health intern academy, social emotional learning and mindfulness curriculum and partnerships with community mental health agencies.

She added the district now has 21 clinicians and 27 interns who provide support.

Coomes, a social worker with LA County, for the last 15 years has worked primarily out of Olive View Service Area 2 Peer Resource Center in Sylmar. He also spoke of the need for clinicians and clinics/hospitals that can help those with mental health issues. He spoke of the importance of local advocacy, like what CVTC was doing with the town hall meeting.

He added addiction also plays a role in mental health, stating that some will attempt to self medicate to control a mental issue.

“Almost 80% of people we serve have [drug-related issues],” he said.

The Peer Resource Center has a number of programs and activities to help those in need of support. Clinicians can also go to other areas to educate and to help.

President Harry Leon was praised by Barger and Dr. Ekchian for his work in informing the community on important issues, like the mental health town hall meeting.