WRENTHAM — The King Philip Regional School District, the Norfolk Public Schools, the Plainville Public Schools and the Wrentham Public Schools are pleased to announce a new collaboration between the school departments and KyleCares that will seek to support student behavioral and mental health needs.
The KyleCares Foundation has awarded the districts a KyleCares grant for $2,250 to support parent education in the region to raise awareness related to mental health and suicide prevention. The programs will provide parents and guardians with education and skills to create a protective layer to support students beyond the school day in partnership with the schools.
The KyleCares Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting open and honest communication about the mental health challenges teens and young adults face in today’s society. Their goal is to financially assist high schools and colleges with the implementation of mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs to better support their students.
The grant will support three programs for parents or guardians to be held in the upcoming months. The series will begin with a community viewing of the documentary “Angst” with the goal of raising awareness about anxiety and its symptoms, as well as promoting a message of hope that issues with anxiety are treatable. The viewing will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m., at the King Philip Regional High School Auditorium.
The documentary is suitable for children ages 10 and up who may wish to attend with their parent. The viewing will be followed by a discussion with a panel of school and community professionals.
Childcare is available for parents during the event, through the signup form here.
The grant will also fund two events in April. Jon Mattleman, a mental health counselor and speaker with over 35 years of experience, will present “The Secret Lives of Teens and Tweens” on Tuesday, April 7.
Linda Price, an adjustment counselor, psychologist, yoga instructor and Social-Emotional Learning/mindfulness consultant with 25 years of experience, will present “Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness for Parenting” through the non-profit organization Minding Your Mind, on Wednesday, April 15.
Locations and times for the two April events will be announced at a later date.
In addition to supporting parent education programming, Jim Johnson, co-founder of the Kyle Johnson Foundation and KyleCares, has been instrumental in connecting Regional Director of Wellness Dot Pearl with organizations who are leading the way in mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
“We are honored to receive this grant as a way to help facilitate important conversations around the mental health challenges our teens and young adults face every day,” King Philip Regional School District Superintendent Paul Zinni said. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the KyleCares Foundation and hope the community attends these upcoming events.”
In addition to the programs through the KyleCares Foundation, the districts are also partnering with the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth and Family Voices for other programs in their series around mental health.
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