In Midwood highschool, I am taking a course called Social Studies Research. This class focuses on writing a year long thesis in which we are asked to identify an issue in our community that is meaningful to us. We then conducted individual research, and eventually implemented real time change towards our topic of choice.

My topic is Mental health resources in NYC public schools. After reading a multitude of peer reviewed sources, I concluded that there is a clear lack of mental health resources in NYC public schools. Lack of mental health support has detrimental effects on student’s grades, social life, self-care, and self-worth. I then conducted field research by surveying 50 participants from NYC highschools whose ages ranged from 13-17. Based on all the data I collected, there was a clear trend that mental health resources within NYC public schools are not meeting student needs. Only 2.3% of respondents recalled that they have gotten fully efficient mental health support in school and 91.7% of participants said they wish there were better or more mental health resources available in school. 66% of respondents rated their ability to manage/cope with your mental health a 6 or below out of 10.

Teens lack knowledge of how to practice mental health management and resilience. After talking to a few experts and reviewing my findings, I was set on making changes to combat this issue. I chose to create the “Healthy Mind” website, so all students could have easily accessible emotional betterment resources. My goal is to destigmatize mental health and be the help that schools lack. In the future I hope Healthy Mind can grow and reach students everywhere.

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