Mental Health Discussion

While the COVID-19 pandemic is winding down, it’s devastating effects are still present in our communities in ways that have little to do with the direct symptoms of the virus. Mental health in particular has become a much greater concern for many Americans that would have previously shrugged their shoulders at any mention of therapy. In fact, finding a professional to speak with about your mental health has become such a monumental challenge on its own, that the waiting list for most counselors has stretched to months long just to get into the office.

Our Republican majority in the NH legislature has worked hard to address these issues. We appropriated nearly $40 million for new mental health facilities and $8 million for mobile crisis units in the last budget. We purchased a new facility at the Hampstead Hospital to increase capacity. We’ve done a lot, but we still have a long way to go to fully tackle the challenge.

Unfortunately, the mental health crisis is also taking a much greater toll on our younger generations. Younger and younger people are feeling the effects of the changes in our society, both because of the pandemic and the natural evolution of our society, such as growing reliance on technology and social media.

One of my foci in the legislature over the past few years has been to combat bullying and suicide among our state’s students. This is an ever-present concern that has been exacerbated by the pandemic’s social isolation resulting in stunted emotional and intellectual growth for some children. A few years ago, I reached out to a local mother who lost her young child to suicide after being bullied in the schools. We spoke about the grief, the warning signs and preventative measures that we can only hope will avert another tragedy from happening. This past week, I was very proud to join Governor Sununu at the New Hampshire State House for the signing of my bill, SB 234, requiring student identifications to include the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number. On the surface, this is a small change, but if this can prevent even one student suicide, it is a life altering piece of legislation for that family.

The Republican legislature has also sought to tackle this problem head on with several other new innovative approaches. First, our state’s new Education Freedom Account program is a first of its kind approach to educational choice reform. This program allows lower income students that are limited geographically to school districts that are not giving them the best opportunities to succeed, the chance to seek out new schools that better fit their needs. For students that are being bullied in school, and have no other options but to continue at their current schools, the feelings of dread and being trapped in a bad situation can be debilitating. The EFA program opens these students up to a possibility of switching into a new school that previously would have only been available to the families of greater financial means.

This past year, the Senate also supported a common-sense bill to ensure that parents are more informed about their child’s academic curriculum, as well as any changes that school personnel notice in a student. This can include changes in mood, behaviors or personality. Communication is absolutely key between parents, students and the schools. Parents know their children best. They raised them, they spend the most time with them and they are the ones that will spend the rest of their lives worrying about their safety and security. If an adult at their school notices that something does not appear normal with a child, the parents should be informed so that a potential tragedy may be averted.

Mental health challenges have always been one of those deeply personal things that we as a culture do not want to talk about. Bringing mental health out of the darkness and giving those that are most vulnerable in our society, especially our children, the tools and opportunities to improve will only lead to the betterment of our society as a whole. That is something that we should all be able to get behind.

Ruth Ward is a State Senator representing District 8. Senator Ward is in her 3rd term and is the Chair of the Senate Education Committee, and serves on the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, and the Senate Transportation Committee.