A provincial grant will fund a mental health pilot project in Livingstone Range School Division.
Trustees learned last week the school division received a $630,900 Education Mental Health in Schools grant.
Livingstone Range will work with certified therapist Kent Hollingsworth, registered psychologist Kendra Massie, Holy Spirit School Division and Palliser School over the next two years.
The pilot project will make access to mental health services more available in Livingstone Range schools and communities.
“The goal of our project was to enhance the mental health, well-being and resiliency and thus learning and achievement of our students who present with notable and concerning mental health and addiction needs,” associate superintendent Richard Feller said.
“These students have traditionally been referred out to community agencies but because in many of our communities we are not able to have that support, we are now going to be able to provide that within our own system.”
Feller provided trustees with an update on the grant and pilot project during their Nov. 28 meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building.
“This is wonderful,” trustee Joscelyn Stangowitz said “What a boon for our schools.”
The grant from the Mental Health in Schools Pilot Program funds new and innovative approaches to addressing mental health needs of Alberta students.
Trustees learned Livingstone Range’s new partnership with the other school divisions and mental health professionals will:
- Provide professional development and consultation by a therapist and registered psychologist to the three school divisions’ staff.
- Provide clinical service by the therapist and registered psychologist for students, parents and families in virtual, in-home, in-school, and in-community sessions.
- Hire and supervise two mental health therapists to provide specialized clinical services such as diagnostic assessment and therapy for students who have notable mental health or addiction needs.
“Ensuring that there are adequate supports in place for our students today is a crucial factor in creating a strong Alberta of tomorrow,” Livingstone-Macleod MLA Roger Reid said in a news release.
“Our students have faced additional challenges over the past couple of years and I understand how much this can impact their ability to learn in addition to their overall well-being.”
Feller is hopeful supports for students will be in place soon. The pilot program will run until December 2024.
