Mental Health coordinator Samantha Phillips was walking through the halls of Auburndale Elementary May 8 when she noticed a boy standing alone in the school library. She greeted him by his first name.
鈥淗i,鈥� the boy said, his tone defeated and his body slouched over a bookshelf.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 wrong?鈥� Phillips asked, stopping to walk up to him.
The boy started to cry. He told Phillips about why he was upset. She listened. Then she talked with him for several minutes. Another student came up and offered a gentle suggestion that addressed the boy鈥檚 problem.
His tears slowed. Before leaving, Phillip made eye contact with him and demonstrated taking a deep breath.
鈥淐an you give me one?鈥� she asked.
He was a little hesitant, but then he, too, took a deep breath.
鈥淚s it ok if we check in later?鈥� Phillips asked.
He agreed.
Back in her office, Phillips explained, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of what my day is. It just comes up.鈥�
Wisconsin youth say these kinds of interactions 鈥� where adults ask them about their wellbeing and demonstrate genuine care 鈥� have helped ease anxiety, pull them out of depressive episodes and reduce suicidal thoughts.
Research shows having a supportive adult beyond a parent is vital to children鈥檚 wellbeing.
A 2024 聽published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions聽found that those without a trusted adult at school were more likely to report depression and anxiety. 聽 published by JAMA Psychiatry found that supportive adults acted as a shield against mental illness for children who experienced trauma, making them less likely to have mental health disorders later in life.
Yet and emotional regulation. Many mental health professionals are funded by grants or other unstable funding sources.
Phillips鈥� position could get eliminated due to a lack of funding.
Trusted adults don鈥檛 have to be mental health professionals. But school counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers typically are the ones to respond when students are in crisis. They can also train teachers to better support students.
Megan Palmer, middle school social worker in the Racine school district, said it's helpful to have a variety of mental health professionals in schools because they all have different personalities, training and expertise. For instance, social workers connect struggling families with community resources, while school counselors provide educational counseling. Both support students' emotional wellbeing.聽
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To meet national recommendations, Wisconsin schools would need to hire 45% more counselors, 57% more psychologists, double the number of nurses and quadruple the number of social workers, a Lee Enterprises analysis of 2023-24 Department of Public Instruction staffing data found.
Linda Hall, director of the Wisconsin Office of Children鈥檚 Mental Health, said supportive adults help foster a sense of belonging among students, an important mental health indicator that鈥檚 worsening in Wisconsin.
Over the last decade, the number of students who reported feeling they belonged at school has dropped 37%, with only half of students feeling they belonged in 2023, according to the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
About 70% of students reported in 2023 having a trusted adult at high school, a slight decrease from prior years. Just 58% of Black students reported having that support.
鈥淲hen kids feel like they belong, they show up at school, they do better academically, and they feel better,鈥� Hall said.
鈥楾here to help鈥�
High school senior Savannah Wheeler, 18, is a youth leader at the Milwaukee School of Languages.
Her peers nominated her in middle school to be part of the school鈥檚 suicide prevention group, Hope Squad. Since then, she has mentored younger students, helping them manage stress and mental health.
鈥淚t鈥檚 OK not to be OK,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淭here is someone to talk to, and there are resources around you.鈥�
Wheeler said students know they can always come to her. But she also needs support. For Wheeler, that鈥檚 her Hope Squad advisors: school psychologist Sara Janecek and teacher Amy Reid.
鈥淢s. Reid and Ms. Janecek are very important to me,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淪ince I was 11 years old, to me now being 18, both of them have been there to really just help me out and support me through my journey of growing up.鈥�
In 8th grade, Wheeler said she 鈥渇ell into a deep pit鈥� emotionally. Being stuck in her house and spending so much time alone during the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥渢ook a toll on me,鈥� she said.
She has gone to both Reid and Janecek for advice when struggling with friends or family. When she missed school, Reid checked in. When she had suicidal thoughts this year, she talked with Janecek for more than an hour.
鈥淚 work a full-time job, and I'm a full-time student, so I'm just really overwhelmed,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淢s. Janecek told me to take it slow and to pay attention to what I need first instead of what everyone else needs.鈥�
鈥淚t was kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn't have to feel the way I did, and there were people who were there to help me.鈥�
Trusting again
A high school junior from West Bend said supportive adults helped improve her mental health after trust was broken multiple times.
Lee Enterprises is not identifying the 17-year-old because she experienced sexual abuse online as a child. She said a man she believed was a peer coerced her into having sexually explicit conversations and sending sexual photos when she was in 6th and 7th grades.
The incident sparked severe social anxiety, she said.
鈥淚 started assuming the worst in people,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 started thinking 鈥� that it could happen again, and I didn鈥檛 know who to trust.鈥�
She said she started questioning whether her friendships were genuine. She felt like she had to be perfect for people to like her.
Social media didn鈥檛 help because it was filled with edited photos and videos of girls who seemed to fit that perfect mold, expectations she couldn鈥檛 meet.
She dreaded school. By freshman year, she moved partially online. On bad days, she had panic attacks in class.
Some teachers didn鈥檛 understand and ignored her when she was in crisis, she said. Another teacher failed to help her when she was being bullied.
But one teacher helped support her mental health effectively. When she was on the verge of a panic attack, he would notice and let her take a break from class to walk around. He also checked in with her via email to make sure she was OK.
鈥淗e understood,鈥� she said.
She said her social anxiety has been "getting better" with the help of multiple adults.聽
Her parents have been supportive and made her feel comfortable opening up about what she's been going through. They show her that she is loved, even though she doesn't always feel like she deserves it.聽
One-on-one Bible studies with her youth pastor鈥檚 wife have also helped. She said the woman prays for her, listens to her struggles and helps her strengthen her faith.聽聽
鈥淚 know I can trust her,鈥� she said.