Mental health resources support school staff

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This article was published 17/02/2022 (1342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba teachers, bus drivers, and all of their colleagues in the K-12 school system can now visit a virtual one-stop shop for mental health resources.

Owing to concerns about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the well-being of educators and other school employees, the Canadian Mental Health Association recently launched the Care for All in Education initiative.

The website (careforallineducation.com) was tailor-made for school staff in Manitoba, with an option for users to contact local wellness support specialists directly through the site to help them navigate available support services.

School staff can scroll through educational materials on topics including anxiety, grief and substance use, click links to access community resources, and read about mental health strategies on the website.

“We’re trying to protect the mental health of our education workforce… (so staff can) continue to be able to function in their roles, to feel well and resilient during these challenging times, and ultimately, not feel like their health and well-being is compromised in the face of their job,” said Marion Cooper, executive director of CMHA’s Manitoba chapter.

Researchers at both the University of Winnipeg and Brandon University have documented the toll COVID-19 has had on teachers — ranging from reports of increased withdrawal from students to considerations about leaving the profession — since March 2020.

Freedom of information requests obtained by the Free Press also show there was an increase in educator leaves, resignations and retirements across Winnipeg in 2020-21 in comparison to 2018-19.

The teachers union has an employee assistance program, but not all K-12 staff members have access to counselling through work, Cooper said.

People often think there are wait lists for everything, so they do not bother seeking out resources — and she noted there are, indeed, not enough affordable mental health services to meet community demand — but Cooper said wellness facilitators can help users with immediate strategies and determine possible next steps.

The province has allocated $500,000 for the CMHA project. The resource is only available in English, but the developers plan to launch it in French before springtime.

“I absolutely hope that this service will be there to support folks in education for a long time to come,” said Fiona England, a social worker who oversees the Winnipeg School Division’s Healthy Minds Initiative, a program that promotes mental health literacy.

“We don’t even know exactly what we’re going to need (after the pandemic). COVID itself has caused trauma, so there will be a traumatic response from it.”

England said people who work in the school system are facing personal challenges at the same time as they are concerned about the mental health of their students, as well as their students’ families.

Not only has the pandemic exacerbated anxiety, depression, stress, grief, and loneliness at alarming rates, but she said educators are worried about everything from attendance issues to suicidal ideation among students.

Meantime, the head caretaker of one Winnipeg school said key stressors on maintenance staff continue to be the ongoing emphasis on ramped up sanitation and staffing shortages because of COVID-19.

“We see every day how students and teachers and other staff are also being stressed out. It’s like a swirling storm of anxieties that are felt when you walk through the halls sometimes,” Junel Malapad said.

While England acknowledged things feel overwhelming at the moment, she said it is critical to recognize everyone’s resilience. In addition to the support services available, the WSD social worker said what gives her hope is the fact there continues to be a major shift in how students and staff talk about mental health.

“When we reduce stigma, we increase help-seeking behaviour,” she added.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie