Dos Pueblos High School has opened a Mental Wellness Center where students can receive support and resources throughout the day.
The center is full of comfortable chairs, affirmations, activities, and a coordinator for students to talk and get connected to additional support.
More than 167 students have officially visited since it opened on Feb. 11.
“If we can get 80% of our kids through this space this spring, it’ll become part of the school culture and community,” said Bill Woodard, Dos Pueblos principal.
Woodard said school officials see the center as an additional mental health resource for the community, and a way to take the shame out of getting help.
“I think a lot of adults could benefit from these types of resources and services,” Woodard said. “And we’re trying to make it less of a shameful thing; we want it to be a prideful thing to get help from the Wellness Center — that’ll take time to develop that as a school initiative.”
Bethany Bodenhamer, dean of student engagement at Dos Pueblos, said she heard for years from students that they didn’t know how to access mental health resources.
“My vision was to create an actual physical room that they could walk into that helps bridge that gap between their needs and the services that we have,” Bodenhamer said. “That’s really the goal of this space.”
In the Wellness Center, students can meet with one of four therapists provided by the Family Service Agency. Students can also get up to 12 free virtual therapy sessions through Daybreak Health. The same services are available at all Santa Barbara Unified School District sites.
Angela Montanez, Wellness Center coordinator, said her goal is for students to utilize the space during and after school and that the center helps connect students with outside community resources for when they can’t go to the wellness center.
“My main goal is for their well-being and mental health, obviously, but really them learning and accessing and getting education around mental health and how to really access the resources,” Montanez said.
Students who visit the center often come in dealing with test anxiety, or are struggling to deal with family and dating situations, Montanez said.
One of the most popular resources has been the pantry, which students see right as they walk into the center. The pantry is stocked with numerous items such as snacks, drinks, sunscreen, toothpaste and deodorant, which Montanez said has been one of the most popular items.
Montanez’s position is fully funded by the Dos Pueblos High School Foundation for the next two years. The entire center is funded by the foundation, which received over $190,000 from local donors to help support the center.
Other SBUSD schools are working to get their own wellness centers. SBUSD Superintendent Dr. Hilda Maldonado said the district unsuccessfully tried to get a grant to start wellness centers at all school sites.
“It feels good that we have it at Dos Pueblos, but it would feel better if I could have it in all the schools,” Maldonado said. “That’s the kind of money we’re seeking. We’re really looking for funders and people interested in this area to help us level up all the different wellness centers across our district, and eventually get down to the junior high level as well.
The district is also working on suicide prevention and changing how mental health resources are provided to students.
After 16-year-old San Marcos High School student Shylah Alexander was killed by a train in November 2023, students wanted to see suicide prevention signs near the train tracks.
Maldonado said when she heard about the idea from students, she reached out to State Sen. Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara, to try to get signs in the area.
Limon said her office worked with the LOSSAN rail corridor agency to get the signs approved and with the county Behavioral Wellness Department on the sign’s messaging.
“This alone isn’t going to be the end all, be all solution, but it’s part of a number of strategies and resources that we have available; and if it helps just one, it’s very meaningful,” Limon said. “In a moment, give them an alternative to also call a specialized hotline, I think is really important.”
There are now five signs posted near the train tracks by San Marcos with the number to a crisis hotline.
Erick Gonzalez Ramirez, SBUSD student board member and Santa Barbara High School senior, said students provided input on the sign’s design.
“I feel like it’s a great opportunity to showcase to the people that are being affected by a mental health issue, they can see that the community is trying to be there to support them,” Gonzalez Ramirez said. “It’s a proud moment; this thing that we’ve been working on as students is going out to help support other students.”
Students have also been working with district leadership to find better ways to provide students with mental health resources.
Gonzalez Ramirez and other students on the student advisory council made two videos where they share positive affirmations, tips and advice to their fellow students that will be played at junior highs and high schools later this month. At the end of the video, students will be shown a QR code that takes them to the district’s resources page.
Students were also involved in helping the district revamp their mental health resource page to make it easier for students to access the resources for their specific needs, whether it be grief counseling, group therapy, basic needs, or substance abuse aid.
“We were just kind of throwing things out there, and we weren’t necessarily grouping things and helping students really understand that there were different reasons for these kinds of services,” Maldonado said. “We looked at how do we provide the information more relatable to the issue you’re experiencing, rather than just saying, ‘look at all these resources we have.’”
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