The City of Fishers and the local school district, Hamilton Southeastern (HSE), have both been active in mental health, and now the federal government is chipping-in with a large grant of over $5.7 million.  The money comes from the bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

According to a news release from HSE Schools, The School Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) grant will provide funding to recruit, prepare, hire and train highly qualified school-based mental health professionals, which includes school counselors, school psychologists and school social workers over the next 5 years.

“Currently, the ratio of school-based mental health professionals-to-students in Hamilton
Southeastern is high, resulting in barriers for K-12 students to access needed supports and
interventions,” according to Mental Health and School Counseling Coordinator Brooke Lawson.  Lawson, who will help administer the grant, says HSE will focus on adding supports at the secondary level by hiring additional school counselors; primary students will be better served by an increased number of school social workers; and districtwide, extra school psychologists will be added.

“We know students can’t perform to the best of their ability when they are experiencing mental health challenges,” said Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Stokes. “Through this grant, HSE has the opportunity to expand its capacity of diverse service providers to address the unique, individual needs of each student and family we serve.”

HSE will begin seeking qualified candidates for these additional positions in the coming weeks.

The American School Counselor Association recommends 1:250 ratio of school counselors-tostudents. The most recent statewide data shows that Indiana ranks last for the number of school counseling professionals serving young Hoosiers