PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Kumarie Cruz, Director of Education and Public Bereavement Services at The Samaritans of New York
1:39:15
·
172 sec
Kumarie Cruz from The Samaritans of New York expressed strong support for peer-based mental health initiatives in schools. She emphasized that these programs can help address the growing demands on overburdened school staff and provide much-needed mental health support for students.
- Samaritans actively works with school professionals through consultations and school visits to provide resources for helping students with mental health needs.
- Peer-based initiatives empower students to support one another, reduce isolation, break down stigma, and complement professional help.
- Cruz highlighted that peers are often the first to notice changes in behavior and emotional well-being, making them uniquely positioned to provide initial support and encouragement.
Kumarie Cruz
1:39:15
Hello.
1:39:16
Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
1:39:19
My name is Kumari Cruz, and I am the director of education and public bereavement services at Samaritans of New York.
1:39:29
And I am here to express our strong, strong support for peer based mental health initiatives.
1:39:36
We believe that they help to readdress and reshape some of the mental health support we have in schools and offers much needed relief to overburdened school staff.
1:39:48
At Samaritan's, we regularly work with and are currently actively working with school professionals through 1 on 1 consultations.
1:39:56
We currently have one of our colleagues, Christina Muja, out in districts 19 and 28 right now, visiting schools and talking to school counselors and providing some of those vital resources for them to better help their own students, with within their own unique mental health needs.
1:40:17
With these conversations, we're witnessing firsthand the extraordinary dedications of schools' mental health providers and educators who are doing the best their best to meet the needs of the growing demands placed on them.
1:40:30
Unfortunately, the needs for services like these far exceeds the resources available, leaves some of the most valuable and skilled professionals struggling to address the full range of student challenges.
1:40:46
Peer based mental health initiatives offers a practical and impactful solution.
1:40:52
We empower students to support one another and to help them embed care into the fabric of schools' communities.
1:41:00
These programs help to reduce isolation, breaks down stigma, and allow students to seek and offer help in ways that feel safe and accessible.
1:41:10
Peers are the first to notice changes in behaviors.
1:41:14
Their, emotional well beings, are noticed much faster than adults do.
1:41:20
They are in a unique positions to provide that first line of support and encouragement.
1:41:27
These initiatives also serve as a valuable complement to professional help, extends, extends the reach of the resources and to alleviate some of the pressure on school staff.
1:41:40
When students feel connected and supported by their peers, they're more likely to thrive and, school professionals can help to add on to the support for those that needs it most.
1:41:53
Yeah.
1:41:54
At Samaritans, we always like to say that suicide prevention starts with me.
1:41:59
Thank you for your dedication to supporting mental health and well-being for our city's youth and allowing me to share some of the work that we do.
