MACON, Ga. — The Houston County School District is one of three districts in the state to receive a grant from Project Aware. Bibb County also received that grant, which allows school systems the ability to fight youth violence and focus on improving mental health.
The county says they plan to use the money over the next five years to fund additional on-site mental health services at selected district schools. Assistant Superintendent Jamie Cassady says kids are facing a lot of different situations right now.
"A lot of them have some trauma in their life and any time that trauma is long-term, it affects them in the classroom through different types of experience with the learning, the behavior, the relationships, so to be able to come and offer support for those individuals, it's very gratifying," Cassady said.
Each year, the district will receive $360,000 for a total of $1.8 million over the five-year period.