Congresswoman Frederica Wilson PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Washington, D.C. — This week, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee, helped secure $4,000,000 in federal funding for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and $1,250,000 in federal funding for Broward County Public Schools over the course of four years. This funding will help support partnerships to train school-based mental health service providers for employment in schools and local educational agencies.

“We are in a mental health crisis in this country, and our children are carrying the weight of it. Over the past decade, suicide rates among young people have been rising, depression is rising, and too many of our children are hurting in ways we don’t always see. When children spend the majority of their days in schools, we should have mental health professionals who can support them. And oftentimes, many children do not have access to mental health resources outside of school.

No one asks, “Are you okay?” We don’t always know what our children are walking into when they leave school or what happens when they are alone with their friends. We don’t know the stress, the trauma, the fear they may be living with every single day. This crisis also doesn’t affect every child equally. Low-income students, students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and other marginalized communities face added stress from systemic barriers that compound mental health challenges.

These inequities make access to care even more critical.” Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said, “As a former principal, a former educator, and through my work with the 5000 Role Models of Excellence, I’ve seen it up close. I’ve seen children struggling because of chaos at home, pressure at school, or because they were misunderstood, mislabeled, or punished simply for being who they are. Too many of them suffer in silence because no one gave them the space to speak or told them that they are loved. That’s why schools must be part of the solution, especially at a young age when emotional, social, and cognitive development is taking shape. When we prioritize the mental health of our youth, we set them up to be healthier adults. That’s why I’m proud to deliver funds to support the mental health and well-being of our students here in Miami-Dade and Broward County Schools because it’s time we address this mental health crisis head-on.”