News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Van Buren County Commission will provide mental health assistance to the county’s school system by implementing the Care Solace Program.
The county commission decided to implement the program on a five-year contract and will use $8,000 of Opioid funds to cover the cost of the program. Van Buren County Schools Homeless System Navigator Jill Bouldin said the program not only provides counseling services but also provides food assistance, housing support, and dental and medical support. Bouldin said the program will be a big help to the school system as the county has limited mental health services.
“Being able to offer mental health services to our students is huge because we currently have no community mental health services in our county except for the contract service that we have through the school system of volunteer behavioral health,” Bouldin said. “So being able to offer something other than what we already have in our school system would be huge.”
Bouldin said the program will also allow students and faculty to talk to someone else if they are not comfortable with talking to the school counselor. Bouldin said she believes the program will positively impact the Van Buren County community.
“Our goal is to have the service meet the needs of our students, families, and faculty,” Bouldin said. “Help them deal with any trials and struggles that they may be facing on a daily basis or maybe that something that comes up and happens in their life one time and just need a little extra support.”
The contract for the program will auto-renew at the end of the five years unless the county decides to not renew it. Boulding said this is the first time the county and school system have had a program like this.
“It is definitely a trial run,” Bouldin said. “We want to see that it is having a positive impact within our community and it is a service that is beneficial. That is something that we want to continue in the future if we see that there is a positive impact from it.”
Bouldin said White County and Warren County schools both have the program and have had good reviews on the program. Boulding said the school system is currently providing information to students and staff about the new program.
