The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) has introduced a new initiative providing free telehealth mental health services to all students within the district. The program, which was officially launched at a panel discussion held at Washington High School, aims to address the increasing mental health needs among students.
CRCSD Superintendent Dr. Tawana Grover emphasized the necessity of the program, noting that existing mental health services have been insufficient to meet the growing demands. “It’s just not enough to meet some of the needs that we are seeing among our students,” Dr. Grover stated.
Larry Johnson, a psychotherapist from Tanager Place who works at Washington High School, shared his perspective on the urgent need for expanded mental health services. Johnson, who provides therapy to students on a daily basis, highlighted the potential impact of the new telehealth program. “This gives a completely different group and population of students access to something that they haven’t been able to access before,” he said.
Despite the benefits of the program, Johnson acknowledged the irony of using technology to combat issues like anxiety and depression, which are often exacerbated by excessive technology use. “Kids feel disconnected. They don’t feel like they belong. And I think that our devices, the technology that we were talking about, is part of the problem,” Johnson explained. Nonetheless, he stressed the importance of utilizing all available tools to support students’ mental health. “Anything that we could access that would be our other tools on our tool belt, I say use them. Whatever helps the kids,” he added.
Iowa Basketball star Hannah Stuelke, who graduated from Washington High School, is serving as the face of Hazel Health, the company partnering with CRCSD to provide these services. Stuelke expressed her support for the initiative, reflecting on her own experiences as a student. “I think it’s really hard, especially as a young person, because some people just say, ‘Oh, you’re young. You shouldn’t have—you haven’t been through so much. Yes, we have. We’ve been through enough to need somebody to talk to,” she said.
The mental health program has been made possible through a $1.5 million grant from United Healthcare, which will fund the initiative for its first year. After that period, CRCSD will seek additional funding sources to ensure the continuation of the services.
This new program marks a significant step forward in addressing the mental health challenges faced by students in the district, providing them with crucial support at a time when it is needed most.
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