Since COVID-19 and the ensuing pandemic, mental health has become a more crucial topic in the world. Children were confined to their houses where both learning and socialization with their peers became entirely virtual. Lack of social contact during this time, in the developmental years, has had lasting effects. Not to mention those in abusive households were essentially kept hostage in their own homes and left trapped with their abuser(s).

From 2021 to 2022 the percentage of teenagers that reported feeling hopeless or sad went up as well as the percentage who reported seriously considering suicide (U.S. House of Representatives, 2022). Research has found that Major Depressive Disorder is a major risk factor in suicide attempts (Stewart et al., 2020). Keep in mind that this is only the number of teenagers willing and able to report these feelings. It is a safe assumption that not everyone was completely transparent in the self-reporting leading to the notion that the actual numbers are much higher than recorded. What age are we talking about here? Well, 50% of youth develop mental illness by only 14 years old (Hughes et al., 2019). Now that the scope of the problem has been explained, what are we going to do about it?

Emergency relief programs granted assistance to The Houston Independent School District at the time which has done some good. About $800,000 was shoved into the school district to make up for the impact of COVID-19. The HISD counselor-to-student ratio was 1 to 100 in 2018. After assistance the ratio has improved 1 to 54 in 2024. This is a huge win for the school district and their students, undeniably so (Kulesza, Cuellar, & Shattuck, 2025). Shockingly however, Texas is ranked LAST in the United States in access to mental health care. In youth who were surveyed, there were more reported suicide attempts compared to the U.S. at large (U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 2023). However, this mental health crisis can be looked at from a different angle rather than a more expensive one, some alterations can be made to the interventions that may prove to be successful and not require much more financial backing.

Developing telehealth guidance counseling could be the answer. What child wants everyone in the school to know they are seeing a counselor or having personal issues? Asking for help when dealing with poor mental health is extremely hard for anyone to do regardless of whether they are a child or an adult. Doing so at school where peers are everywhere makes it much more difficult, especially as a teenager in the middle of developing a sense of self. As much as the conversations around mental illness has reduced stigma over the years, there are still people who judge and ridicule others mental health issues.

If HISD developed telehealth counseling as an option for students, they would not have to worry about anyone finding out about it. It could be an after-school service where teenagers can message or call a guidance counselor and open up about what is going on with them. If another student or teacher makes them feel unsafe, they have a confidential and private place to notify an adult. One can only imagine how much more comfortable that would be than asking your teacher in front of a whole class if you could see the guidance counselor or being seen walking to the office.

If HISD could make learning virtual, they can make counseling virtual as well. Currently on the Houston ISD webpage there is technically a page for student services, but it directs you to an error message stating the page no longer exists. The district must do better and try to think about these issues in a new and more effective way. 

Please sign this petition to bring attention to this matter and show your support for new and creative interventions for youth mental health in schools. 

In signing this petition, you are advocating for an after-school telehealth program for students in the Houston ISD district!