“From a global pandemic to a racial reckoning, families across our city have undergone traumatic and life-altering experiences that disproportionately affected Black and brown households. Our children are struggling to comprehend the crises that we are facing, adapting to the drastic changes, while focusing on their schoolwork. We urgently need expanded access to mental health support to meet these unprecedented challenges and remove the socio-emotional barriers that could hinder our students’ ability to excel in school. The integration of social workers in every school building will be instrumental in ending the disparities in social and emotional support for our students while transforming our academic institutions into safe spaces for healing,” said Council Member Farah N. Louis, Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions.

Read the full press release from the Office of the Mayor (link).