Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month: Call on Legislators to Support Student Mental Health

In light of recent events, and in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month, educators are calling on elected officials to use Wisconsin’s historic budget surplus to increase funding for student mental health resources.

Twenty percent of students have behavioral or social emotional concerns, but only one in five of those kids receive support. There are crisis-level shortages of mental health professionals such as therapists, counselors, and school psychologists in our schools. A full 70 percent of public schools say more students are seeking mental health services than ever before, but 87 percent of schools say they cannot provide services to all the students in need.

WEAC President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen said, “In the last state budget, Wisconsin had a $3 billion budget surplus that legislators chose not to use. Putting some of it to cover the urgent shortages impacting student mental health could go a long way toward making Wisconsin a better place to learn and grow up–and a better place to live.”