Community Health System is helping students in the Clovis Unified School District with five grants aimed at improving their mental health.
The grants are a response to students’ mental and emotional wellness needs, including those tied to anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and LGBTQIA+ issues.
The recipients of the grants are:
- Clovis Community Day School. The Mind, Body, Spirit: The Clovis Way grant aims to improve mental health through development of physical health with the purchase of fitness and athletic equipment.
- Liberty Elementary School. The Social Emotional Collaborative Learning grant uses funds to create collaborative elective opportunities for students that help enrich learning and build confidence.
- Tarpey Elementary. The Promoting Literacy and Positive Behaviors grant supports a vending machine at the school that dispenses books chosen to promote positive behavior.
- Clovis Elementary. The STEM Bins to Increase Engagement & Inclusion grant provides resources that create academic engagement opportunities for students with social, emotional and/or behavioral disorders by implementing hands-on STEM activities differentiated by grade level.
- Dry Creek Elementary. The Breathe for Change grant provides certification training around movement and for mindfulness designed to reduce behavior problems and stress, and increase emotional intelligence and physical health for students and teachers.
A history of partnering with Clovis Unified
This isn’t the first time Community has worked with the district to address students’ mental health needs.
Sadly, four Clovis Unified teens died by suicide at the start of the 2016-17 school year. During that same school year, the number of students transported from district schools to mental health facilities for observation increased nearly 350% from the previous year.
In 2020, extra funding from Community helped the district get a grant to increase counselors and nurses at every school site and hire more psychologists.
“This continued partnership has helped bring so much more awareness to our campuses and better equipped our students and staff to respond when they hear another might be struggling,” said Kelly Avants, Clovis Unified chief communications officer. “We still have a long way to go, but together we are making real progress.”
Mental health identified as a top concern in the region
Mental health is the number-one health need identified in the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).
The CHNA is a collaborative effort among the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, eight regional hospitals and public health department partners. It lists health needs as ranked by the community and is validated by data collection.
Learn more about how Community partners with local organizations to improve health outcomes for our region.
