In this San Diego school, a new mental health center aims to help kids from military families
SAN DIEGO --
The fifth-grade Overland twins detailed at length how they would plan to get off of an island. As part of a group teamwork activity at school, each student had to come up with an object that would help them escape.
Alexander said he’d offer a boat — “Steamboat Willie,” he called it. Zachary would contribute gas.
The 11-year-olds are participants in the new Lighthouse space that opened last month at Doris Miller Elementary School. The program, a collaboration with youth-advocacy organization SAY San Diego, aims to help military-connected students with their mental health, with the help of funding from the Prebys Foundation.
The school’s students, 98% of whom are from military families, sometimes struggle with feelings of sadness, separation anxiety and depression, and previously those feelings would often show up in negative ways at school.
Principal Denise Goulart says the space has helped improve students’ behavior.
“We used to have a revolving door of discipline issues that has pretty much ceased,” she said. “We have our outlier students, of course, that come in that need just additional support — but for the most part, there’s a safe place for students somewhere here on this campus where, when there are concerns that come up, they can be seen.”
Read the entire article from the Union Tribune: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/02/08/in-this-san-diego-school-a-new-mental-health-center-helps-aims-to-help-kids-from-military-families/