Starting the conversation: At summit, educators encouraged to search for mental health resources for kids

Aug. 18—Intensive mental health treatment for a K-12 student can happen without removing the young person from his or her home.

"We can help design a program for a kid," said Mike Chavers, CEO of Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

In addition, the shutdown of schools last year because of COVID-19 provided evidence, sometimes wrenching evidence, of how important schools can be to children — for nutrition, for safety, for someone to care, for an escape, however fleeting, from a traumatic home life.

Another note — when schools resume instruction in the weeks ahead one hole in the mental health safety net will be a staff shortage affecting some outpatient providers serving schools, thereby reducing the number of kids they can see.

"The challenge is capacity. We all know this," Chavers said.

On Tuesday afternoon, former Gov. Steve Bullock opened the "Mental Health Resources" panel discussion, for which he served as moderator, with a quote from the book "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.

"In the end, a parent's responsibility could not be more simple: To bring a child safely into adulthood so that she could have a chance to experience a life of purpose and, God willing, contentment."

Of course, Bullock knows too well that although the responsibility of parents might be simple, the reality can be tragic. One deeply unhappy and unsafe child can steal the life of a child with a promising future.

Which is what happened in 1994 when Bullock's 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy Bullock, was shot and killed by a 10-year-old boy outside Margaret Leary Elementary. Bullock was not the boy's intended target.

Tuesday's panel occurred during the Jeremy Bullock Safe Schools Summit at the Copper King Convention Center in Butte. A crowd of educators, law enforcement officials, school nurses and human service professionals heard a host of ideas during the gathering about how to make children and schools safer and how to reduce the lingering stigma of mental health treatment.

Panel members during the 1 p.m. session included Chavers and his colleague, Kim Chouinard, executive director of Community Based Services for the ranch. The other two participants were Nancy Berg of the University of Montana Tele-Counseling Clinic and Jenna Eisenhart of Shodair Children's Hospital.

Chouinard told educators in the crowd it's important to remember that a child suffering with complex trauma might not care where a comma is supposed to land in a sentence.

Eisenhart shared it can help to approach a child who is acting out with curiosity about what has happened to the student rather than getting snared in the behavior itself.

Berg talked about how the University of Montana'sTele-Counseling Clinic has helped bring services to children and families across much of Montana.

The panel discussion emphasized that educators should not hesitate to reach out to providers and networks, even if they're not really sure of the menu of services available.

"Don't be afraid to start those conversations...even if you don't know what the resources are," Eisenhart said.

She said parents and communities tend to support health education in schools. But she said she believes there could be a ruckus if a class about mental health was proposed.

One woman in the crowd suggested a change in terms. Instead of referring to mental health, she said, why not refer to brain health?

The Jeremy Bullock Safe Schools Summit continues Wednesday.

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