PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Adonte Dacosta, Student at Manhattan Early College School for Advertising
1:18:44
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148 sec
Adonte Dacosta, a senior at Manhattan Early College School for Advertising, testifies about the urgent need for mental health support in schools. He emphasizes the challenges faced by youth, including the impact of COVID-19, global issues, and personal stresses, highlighting the importance of accessible mental health professionals in schools.
- Shares a personal story about a friend who attempted suicide, underscoring the critical need for mental health support
- Argues that current school counselors are primarily focused on college admissions, leaving a gap in emotional and mental health support
- Calls for the City Council to invest in the education budget to fund more school counselors and prioritize student well-being
Adonte Dacosta
1:18:44
Hello.
1:18:44
My name is Dante DeCosta.
1:18:46
I am a senior at Manhattan Early College School for advertisement, and I'm senior at Manhattan Early College School for advertisement, and I'm also dual enrolled in BMCC.
1:18:49
Imagine a word with youth who need mental health support have it easily.
1:18:59
And imagine a word where school feels safe because it's the only place that you know it'd care for your mind, your spirit, and your body.
1:19:09
Mental health professionals is crucial to the development of our minds.
1:19:16
As teens, life comes at us fast.
1:19:21
We are the generation that spent important years of our lives in the COVID 19 lockdown, then released back into the world without the tools we need to cope.
1:19:32
We feel the pain of our parents.
1:19:34
We feel the pain of the world.
1:19:36
We also feel the pain of loss.
1:19:38
In spite of all of this, we still expected to live up to to see academically and, to stay calm even though we are stressed.
1:19:48
Because all of this, many of us hold all of our emotions back until we can't deal with the stress anymore, and we have to release it.
1:19:58
My friend was one of these kids whose emotions became too much to bear.
1:20:03
He expressed thoughts of suicide and even attempted.
1:20:08
We are lucky that we still have him here because he was unsuccessful.
1:20:13
My friend is one of many teens who experienced thoughts of suicide in the New York Public School System.
1:20:20
What he needed was somebody to talk to.
1:20:23
Somebody who could help him to carry his pain.
1:20:27
We need people to help us deal with stress.
1:20:31
Many of our counselors are only focused on dealing with college, helping the seniors.
1:20:38
But who is there to help with our mental health, help us to build good habits for our emotional well-being?
1:20:47
As teenagers, we see what's going on in the world.
1:20:50
We see the climate disasters, war, and death in on social media, gun violence in our own neighborhood, and our rights being taken away every single day.
1:21:00
It is time that city council invest in our education budget.
1:21:05
To fund more schools' counselors, it is time to invest in our well-being.
1:21:11
Thank you for Tahirmi.
