Mental Health Awareness Month, observed each May since 1949 and established by Mental Health America, highlights the importance of mental well-being, encourages open dialogue, and advocates for equitable access to mental health resources. It underscores that mental health is just as essential as physical health.
May 7th is specifically recognized as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day, emphasizing the unique mental health needs of young people and the importance of early intervention.
Each year, awareness campaigns focus on topics such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, with schools, workplaces, and communities participating through events, workshops, and social media outreach. For students, schools play a vital role by integrating mental health education into curricula, facilitating access to counseling, and fostering partnerships with families to create supportive, stigma-free environments. Peer-led programs and school-wide initiatives empower youth to care for their emotional well-being and support their peers.
Media portrayals also significantly influence perceptions of mental health, often presenting exaggerated or misleading narratives. For youth, especially those still developing critical thinking skills, this can distort reality and impact their emotional understanding.
This makes the role of parents and guardians crucial in guiding children through misinformation and ensuring their mental well-being.
While feelings like anxiety are common, when they become overwhelming or persistent, seeking professional help is essential for long-term wellness. It should be noted that most educators weren’t trained to handle trauma, yet most classrooms demand this skill. Dr. Nicola Parr, Ed.D., and her department is a resource for our Solano County community.
Dr. Parr has dedicated her career to building supportive systems within schools that meet students’ mental health needs early and effectively. “First and foremost, because we know that we have limited resources, we have to be careful around how we allocate those resources,” she explained. “The first thing we do is work with schools to build a continuum of mental health and wellness supports through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).” This approach allows schools to identify students who may need help, sometimes before a crisis occurs, through tools like universal mental health screenings and more strategic use of existing staff. “Young people aren’t asking for a therapist, they’re asking for a caring adult,” Dr. Parr emphasized. “What we need is a caring adult who’s been trained in youth mental health basics, so they can tell the difference between normal adolescent behavior and something that requires a higher level of care.”
Through her role at the county level, Dr. Parr has been instrumental in helping schools navigate delays in the mental health care system.
“One of the biggest issues is the lack of services, and so young people are having to wait lengthy periods before they are able to actually be seen and assessed,” she said. Even while in crisis, students may wait up to six weeks to see a psychologist. “We don’t want to wait until young people are in a crisis to respond.” To reduce that wait and provide more immediate support, her department partnered with Solano County Behavioral Health and UC Davis to expand resources. From those partnerships came initiatives like the wellness centers, safe spaces where students can reset and find support when they’re overwhelmed. “Students had been asking for years for places to calm down,” said Dr. Parr, who led the plan that secured a state grant to open nearly 50 wellness centers, including at juvenile detention facilities and community colleges.
Dr. Parr’s journey began in the classroom, working with students labeled “emotionally disturbed” in an alternative school. “At the time, I didn’t have the language for it, we didn’t call it trauma yet. We just knew these students had experienced something,” she recalled. That connection between mental health and learning drove her to focus on system-level change. After becoming a principal and later moving to the county office of education, she helped implement PBIS in about 90% of Solano County schools.
“Schools realized they didn’t have enough trained staff or people to identify when a student needed help,” she said.
Today, her work includes training educators, volunteers, and community members in trauma-informed care and supporting vulnerable student groups, particularly LGBTQ+ youth, who are disproportionately affected. “We’re building an ecosystem of care,” Dr. Parr said. “And everyone has a role to play.”
Note: If experiencing an immediate threat, call 911. Solano Suicide & Crisis, call 988;
Mobile Crisis Line-707-806-0866
County Resources:
https://www.nami.org
https://namisolanocounty.org
https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/bh/contact/default.asp
https://www.solanocounty.com/documents/FamilyServices(002).pdf
https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/default.asp
https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/
