Freedom's help with mental health

By Aiden Bleier

​  We’ve all felt unwell in the past, some people have felt even worse for long periods of time. The Wellness Center and therapists have been working together, starting in 2019, to address the mental health issues of FHS’s student body. 
   Mental health assistance is widely accessible throughout Freedom. The most common and mostly used source of mental health assistance is the guidance counselor that students get when they first come to high school. Although some people think that it’s the only way to get mental help, the Wellness Center is planning to expand their operations to make their other resources more available, according to Ms. Diaz Sierra, a member of the Wellness Center. 
   Signing up for this Wellness Center is fairly easy, there are various ways to sign up for the Wellness Center, the main ones are going directly to the Wellness Center, going to your Guidance Counselor, or asking the assistant principal. There’s also a way to sign up for a therapy at Pinebrook, which offers free mental health according to Mrs. Erdman, who is a member of the Wellness Center.
   The success rates of the Wellness Center are high. Both Mrs. Erdman and Ms. Diaz Sierra have stated that there have been some organizational  issues, but they are going to be getting the old planetarium  for the Wellness Center this year. As for their activities, they have social emotional learning activities to help with anxiety, vaping, and depression.
  Although we do have plenty of help with students with mental health issues, like having a desk outside certain classrooms for kids to sit at and calm down, we do not have as much help as the Department of Education specifies that people have the ability to get more help from the Department of Education because of their 24/7 education on mental health along with mental health help for those who need it. 

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