murmur. So if it’s going to work, kids have to do it, and it was kids doing this when they were feeling their worst and most lost.” It’s Necessary I n a survey of 7,705 high school students (grades 9-12) from January to June in 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention reported that 44 percent of those students who took part have a feeling of sadness or hopelessness every day for two consecutive weeks or more. Three influential groups — the American Academy of Pedia- trics, the American Academy of Child and Ad- olescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association — offered a similarly disturbing message in October of 2021 when they jointly declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. Gilbert Schools is not immune to this na- tional trend, proved by the tragedies in recent years. The district is doing all it can to help students navigate through difficult times and provide them with the tools necessary to help each other. It has thrown its full support be- hind Moving Forward, and in 2021 it began training its students in teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA).
The now junior and senior classes went through the training in 2021, and in mid-Sep- tember the current sophomore class was given the tools necessary to help one another. tMHFA was developed in response to research that shows teens prefer their peers when it comes to sharing about their challenges. Gilbert Schools also makes other resources available to its students who may be strug- gling with mental health. All high school stu- dents have free access to counseling services with a licensed therapist, and students have been made aware of other avenues for help, such as the Statewide Crisis Line which pro- vides mental health counselors who will travel for in-home visits with those that are strug- gling. “All of it goes to show that’s who we are at Gilbert,” Bassett says. “We’re empowering students by saying, what do you need? We’re going to give you the tools and resources to help when you need it.” Bassett is excited for what the future holds at Gilbert Schools, and she knows what an im- pact Moving Forward has had on the student body in such a short time.
“I’m so proud of them and I’m so excited for what they’ve created for Gilbert kids,” she says. “What they’re doing matters even more for every younger grade of kids. They’re building a legacy and it’s going to grow expo- nentially.” Ben thinks about Nolan a lot these days, par- ticularly during the Moving Forward events and the days leading up to them. He believes his friend would have enjoyed them. He be- lieves his friend would have fit right in. “We’re doing this as a way to help people like Nolan,” Ben says. “I miss Nolan every day, but our group is completely about the fu- ture and what we’re going to do about it.” With that, Ben stands up and heads back into the high school. It’s almost time for football practice, and homework after that. Soon enough, he and his friends will begin planning their next Moving Forward event, and they’ll hope it’s even bigger than the previous get to- gether. It’s important to them. It’s important to the school. It’s important to the future.
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