Mental health is a big issue plaguing America. For several years I have struggled often due to my depression and suicidal thoughts. Though, I'm not alone. It's a dangerous epidemic affecting millions and destroying lives. A lot of teenagers are struggling through depression, anxiety, and other problems. For most of them, however, they live their everyday life without their own parents realizing that. 

A source of the issue? School, where most of us spend seven or more hours five days a week. A place that is the only place to communicate with others for many students.

Unfortunately, Minnesotan schools are extremely lacking when it comes to mental health support. The American School Counselor Association noted the average ratio of counselors to students is 1:406. With a school of almost 3000 students and only 7 counselors, we're most likely at the state average or even worse.

No one should be expected to sufficiently handle 406 kids and their potential mental health issues. It's not only draining, but also puts pressure on counselors to devote their time to help students and potentially neglect other obligations.

Champlin Park High School needs to take action to address this issue. Nationally, almost 25% of all teenagers are suffering from mental illnesses. As somebody with severe depression and anxiety, it is absolutely awful, and I know I am not the only one who has gone through moments of desperately needing help.

That's why I am hoping to reach the appropriate people to take action in Champlin Park High School (and hopefully the district later on) to see whether or not sufficient action is being taken against this epidemic. Below is an outline of the actions I am going to advocate for, along with the benefits this will potentially bring to the community.

Actions that should be taken:

1. Conduct a mental health survey specifically pertaining to Champlin Park High School students (only identifying age, gender, and grade) to compare to national and/or state-wide statistics
2. Interview counselor’s concerning mental health support for students and whether they believe they are sufficiently handling it or need additional help
3. Review support available for students and see how successful or effective it has been in terms of availability and helpfulness
4. Review teacher protocol for mental health issues concerning students and whether they are helping to prevent the issue or not 

Why would we benefit from these actions?

1. Determining the severity of the situation - Anecdotal evidence isn’t enough, but by being a national concern, this is a problem that should be investigated. It hurts students, classrooms, and communities. 
2. Acknowledging the difficulty in handling hundreds of kids - Counselors aren’t just for mental health issues. They also need to deal with a plethora of issues. However, there’s no guarantee they can sufficiently handle it for several hundred kids. That’s not even taking mental health into account, which is extremely time consuming and stressful to handle.
3. Reviewing the Effectiveness of Available Resources - It simply isn’t enough to have resources. If students aren’t finding them enough or feel it isn’t helping, then that is an issue which shouldn’t be ignored. 
4. Teacher-student mental health protocol - International leaders and experts have devised mental health training that was well received by students when taught to teachers. 81% responded positively while 71% saw improved test scores.

Someone needs to take the first steps to raising awareness for this, and I am hoping I can do so for people who are too uncomfortable to bring attention to themselves. Together, we can generate the necessary attention to a problem that's devastated too many of our peers and friends.