The Lasting Effects of School-Based Mental Health on Families

When Paul B.’s two young daughters were attending Pillsbury Elementary in Northeast Minneapolis, the family was in a tough spot. Paul was a single parent struggling to help his daughters, one of whom was experiencing significant behavioral issues and dysregulation at home and school, while also dealing with an unstable housing situation.

At the time, in 2016, Change Inc. was stationed at Pillsbury through the Community and School Collaborative (CSC), delivering accessible, reliable mental health support for students and their families. Paul's family was able to access Change Inc.'s services in a context that was familiar and where they were already spending time. To this day, Change Inc. still has one full-time school-based therapist and two school-based therapist interns at Pillsbury as part of the CSC.

“We learned to accept that therapy was going to be part of our gig,” Paul says. “We needed it."

In-School Support Changed the Game

Because Change Inc. staff were with Paul’s daughters at school, available for support throughout the day, Pillsbury became more than just a school to his family. “So many barriers would have been put up if [Change Inc.] wasn’t right in the school,” Paul says.

Change Inc. staff also delivered mental health support to the family in their home. “You came over to where we lived at the time and supported me as a parent on how we might approach my daughter's issue,” Paul says. “I’m a veteran, a former US Army Airborne Ranger and paratrooper, and it was tough for me to be raising two little girls. I was probably not cut out for it.”

About School-Based Mental Health and the CSC

For years, Change Inc. has been on the forefront of developing and implementing school-based mental health services in the Twin Cities. Providers are more than on-site therapists. Instead, the entire school is considered the client— a model that focuses on the mental health of students, teachers, staff, parents, and families. This approach leads to better educational outcomes by increasing access to caring adults.

With teamwork from Change Inc. and Paul, Paul's daughters began shifting their feelings and behaviors related to school. “[My daughter] stopped running out of school and down the street. She started looking forward to going to school every day, when prior to that she wasn’t really interested. As things progressed, she was happy to be there and enjoying it,” Paul shares. In fact, she grew from having a lot of trouble in second grade to becoming student council president in fifth grade. “That speaks for itself,” Paul says.

The Big Picture

Change Inc. provides school-based mental health services at over 43 schools and five school districts across the Twin Cities Metro. Over the last two decades, Change Inc.'s services have expanded to include mentoring, case management, care coordination, and therapy. Today, we collaborate with school districts, counties, the State of Minnesota, juvenile justice programs, and other partners to serve kids and families in 50 school communities throughout the Twin Cities.

As schools have become increasingly disrupted— COVID, school shootings, the recent ICE incursion—mental health services are more essential than ever. School serves as a steadying force for many students, an environment that becomes even more meaningful when a student like Paul’s daughter begins to make strides in her mental health because of supported experiences at school.

“I really needed to do something, and we needed help,” Paul says. “That baseline got us through where we are today.”

Today, Paul’s younger daughter is a junior in high school, and his older daughter has graduated from high school and is now working full time and pursuing a real estate license. Paul himself works full time, and the family has had stable housing for many years now.