Putnam County Schools Use National And Local Resources To Support Student Mental Health

The Cookeville High School Student involved in the emergency situation last week called a hotline to report her feelings.

Student Services Supervisor Trey Upchurch said it was the National Crisis Hotline, not one specific to the Putnam County School System. Upchurch said the number was printed on the back of all student I.D. cards this year.

“Recently the state passed legislation that required all school districts to list a suicide hotline on the back of the I.D. card,” Upchurch said. “Typically, we’ve had that number in multiple locations where students can easily access it. I do think it’s a great thing where they have that right in front of their face at all times. So in the situation like we had last week, it definitely helps the process 100 percent.”

In addition to the national resource, the Putnam County School System has several in-house resources to aid its students. Upchurch said these include guidance counselors, mental health coordinators, and social workers.

Upchurch said when it comes to helping students with mental health needs, the first step is to have direct contact with a teacher or counselor. He said they then go through the steps of reaching out to student services to find out how to best support that student.

“During the school day, absolutely reach out to anyone in the school district,” Upchurch said. “In the evenings, someone may not want to reach out to someone at the school level. It’s nice to have that second option so they can speak to a completely unaffiliated person sometimes. Someone who doesn’t know their story and they can just talk. A lot of times it’s more comforting to be able to do that than it might be to go to someone who you don’t want to know your story because they’re so close to you. 90 percent of the time that’s not the case, they want to talk to someone who they’re comfortable with.”