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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Youth Member of Coalition for Equitable Education Funding, on Mental Health Clinics in Schools
6:12:48
·
125 sec
A high school student and youth member of the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding, advocates for baseline funding for mental health clinics in schools. He emphasizes the importance of these clinics in addressing the ongoing mental health crisis among students and providing necessary support.
- His school, Brooklyn Latin, lacks a school-based mental health clinic
- Mental health clinics in schools provide a safe space for students to receive counseling and express vulnerability
- Investing in these clinics helps prevent unnecessary ER visits and hospitalizations during crisis situations
High School Student
6:12:48
Good evening, honorable chair and esteemed members of the hearing.
6:12:52
My name is Longhui Zhang, and I'm a youth member with the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding, Citizens Committee for the Children, and a student at the Brooklyn Latin School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
6:13:03
Brooklyn Latin is one of the smallest specialized public schools in the city, stacked in the Gaynor Building with two schools above us.
6:13:11
And at Brooklyn Latin, we do not have a school based mental health clinic.
6:13:15
And that is why I'm here today, to advocate for baseline funding for the mental health continuum in the fiscal year twenty twenty six budget, so that we can keep the fight alive to expand these clinics to schools like mine.
6:13:29
It is no secret that we are in a mental health crisis, and these clinics are where students feel the most comfortable.
6:13:36
They provide a space in school where students receive counseling, and in this long political darkness we are in, counseling makes me and my peers feel safe.
6:13:48
It provides a space where students like myself can express their vulnerability.
6:13:55
Without these resources, schools often resort to calling 911 in crisis situations, leading to unnecessary ER visits and hospitalizations, making the situation even worse.
6:14:08
By investing in these clinics, it means that students get the right intervention at the right time.
6:14:16
Every day stories are being suppressed, especially under this administration.
6:14:21
Honorable chair and members of the council, by restoring funding and baselining funding to mental health clinics in the continuum, we help fulfill our duty.
6:14:31
Our duty to ensure that every story of every child, every parent, every student, of every family is heard.
6:14:41
By providing in school direct access to support and guidance, stories are told.
6:14:48
Now is the time to hear them.
6:14:50
Please continue the continuum.
6:14:53
Thank you.