Students need school-based mental health care

Dear Friend,

These past few years have been difficult for students. But the need for better mental health care services in our schools has existed for decades.

Last year, I helped negotiate the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. A lot of the focus on the law has been on its gun safety measures because it was the first major federal legislation on that issue in over 25 years.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act focused on public safety, and it absolutely took on major gun safety reforms. But it also included historic investments in community and school-based mental health services.

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich meets with students at Silver High School to highlight a $6 million School-Based Mental Health Services Grant that Silver Consolidated Schools received under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, April 12, 2023.

Yesterday, I visited Silver City to sit down with students at Silver High School. They shared with me their own experiences and the importance of expanding school-based mental health services for them and their classmates.

Silver Consolidated Schools recently became the first school district in New Mexico to receive a $6 million School-Based Mental Health Services Grant under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This new federal funding will allow Silver Consolidated Schools to hire psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals at all of their schools. This will make a huge difference in providing students with accessible mental health services right on campus.

While Silver City was the first district in our state to receive this type of grant, it is just the beginning. I want to be sure that all schools in New Mexico can tap into additional federal funding opportunities that become available under the new law.