SAN ANTONIO — Texas has been ranked one of the states with the least access to mental health resources. San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) received a large federal grant to help change that.
The money will also help train the future generation of mental health and social workers in San Antonio.
With more than $2.6 million, SAISD will be able to place social worker and counseling interns at 10 of its elementary campuses where students and their families may need the most additional resources.
“We came to a conclusion that we wanted to focus on the ten elementary schools that are the lowest socio-economic status,” said Estella Garza, Director of Family, Student Support Services at SAISD.
Garza said the money will be used to place 10 social work interns and four counselors at the campuses selected.
“Many of these kids come to school traumatized by the community itself, we know the community has a lot of challenges,” said Garza.
Once those internships are complete and the college graduates become licensed, the grant money will also be used to hire them as full-time employees, focusing on counseling and home visits.
Cinthia Martinez is a mother of three students who attend SAISD and said the home visits make a world of difference not only for the student, but the entire family.
“I have a special needs child which has a lot more resources than I would imagine and I’m very happy because they accommodate my kids, whatever circumstances it is that they’re needing,” said Martinez.
By funding internships, the grant money will also help secure mental healthcare access for future generations.
“When you’re in school you’re learning the best-case scenario. When you’re thrown into the field, like the school setting that I’m in, you’re learning different scenarios, different lifestyles, different cultural backgrounds,” said Gabriela Bello, who is pursuing her master’s degree of Social Work at Our Lady of the Lake University.
Bello is currently an intern at SAISD and says without the grant money to fund those internships, many students wouldn’t get the help they need and deserve.
“Mental healthcare is not one of the primary medical needs that we look at when we go to a doctor, we have families here that need food, need clothes, they need new shoes,” said Bello.