DUBLIN, Ga. — As kids deal with anxiety and stress from the pandemic, there’s a focus on schools to potentially offer help. In Central Georgia, Dublin City Schools started programs to address the mental health needs of students and staff.
Reanna Osburn's 4-year-old daughter Lennon is happy most of the time, but sometimes she gets anxious.
"She asks a lot of questions. She wants to know where, who, what, when, why? She'll say, 'My stomach hurts, I don't feel well, my stomach hurts, mom... I feel sick,'" said Osburn.
She says this is the reality for a lot of children, even more so since the pandemic started.
"A lot of it looks like us, just less verbal. They just don't know how to express it. It's really hard for them because their little minds can't comprehend what's going on and it's so unsure and uncertain," she said.
Tonia Spaulding is the director of mental health with Dublin City Schools.
She says the pandemic has been difficult for children of all ages, and she's seen it firsthand.
"The running thing that I've seen with students since it started -- and it's kind of escalated throughout the pandemic -- is anxiety and depression," said Spaulding. " People think, oh it's only middle and high school, but no... I deal with a lot of 9-year-olds who are having frequent panic attacks. They're very fearful, and they're melting right before our eyes."
Spaulding says they've tripled their number of counselors so that students always have someone to talk to.
They've also added the "Shamrock Button" to their website for students and staff to access at any time.
"24 hours a day! We get calls at night when students are on their computers and typing in things that are not appropriate, or they're saying that they're going to hurt themselves or someone else. It triggers our department and we respond to them at night. People need to know that," said Spaulding.
She says it's something that many people are going through right now, and the district will keep doing whatever it takes to make sure their students get the help they need.
"Mental health issues are beginning to manifest themselves, like now. We knew it was going to manifest themselves really big and now we're here and I feel like mental health is on the forefront," said Spaulding.
Another thing Spaulding says they do each week to address the students' mental health needs is post a "Minute of Wellness" video weekly to teach them how to cope in different situations.