When I was a children's pastor, I remember walking across the street to our local school and asking how I could help them. Who knew that a short walk across the street and such a simple question would lead to 25 years of working in schools?

The decline in youth mental health is nothing new. I have seen the same anxiety, depression, conduct disorder, opposition, and suicidal ideation in urban poor schools, middle class, and affluent alike. However, the pandemic has made it impossible to ignore that something needs to be done, and I believe churches can play a role.

Teachers, Students, Parents

I believe, more than ever, we need a whole-school approach to wellness. We need the village to support these young ones. However, focusing only on student wellness is not good enough if we haven't also included a plan for teachers and parents. Think about it: Teaching is the only profession that impacts all other professions. There is not one person you will meet today who hasn't been impacted by a teacher. This means teachers literally shape our culture. I started to ask myself: Why, then, wouldn't we prioritize their well-being? And after supporting teachers through the pandemic and post-pandemic, there's never been a time more important to do so.

There was a study done in Brisbane where they gave teachers stress-reduction skills for eight weeks. Something interesting happened as a result – student wellness and academics went UP.

Interesting.

And what about parents? I can say first-hand from my professional experience in mental health, but more importantly, my own personal journey with our son's mental health and suicide ideation, that when I was supported and given help, my son's mental well-being went UP. You would never guess our family has been through a mental health crisis. If the only focus would have been my son's mental health rather than helping us as parents, I don't know if he would still be with us, to be honest.

Here's Where I Believe A Church Can Help

Why not take a walk like I did across the street and see what the question, "What do you need and how can we help?" leads to?
We created packages for teachers with self-care items and gift cards local spas and coffee places gave us. We wrapped them up beautifully and delivered them to the teachers in our local school. We even brought in a chair massage specialist at lunch in the staff room! How can we wash their feet and bless their socks off?
Parents are KEY in the village with our children. When a parent is well, the family is well. It changes everything for that child. Why not offer to partner with the school on giving parents the tools they need to parent children with mental health concerns? If you have no one in your congregation who can speak to this, I would be happy to support you. Many schools don't have the capacity or time to build a great parent community. This would be a tremendous help for them.

Just Walk Across The Street

Any way you can partner with your local school will greatly impact your community and your church.

If you want to learn more about the mental health journey with our son, I've written a book about it that you can read here.

If you're a Next Gen leader and you're not sure how to work with students with mental health needs like Anxiety, Depression, Opposition, ADHD, or Autism, I've written a book you can read here.

Connect with Connie.

Rev. Connie Jakab helps design meaningful connections and cultural experiences in workplaces and education. She is a mental health/resilience specialist, speaker, author, and coaches culture-creating women. She served as the Church Ministries Director in the BC/Yukon District.