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REGULAR MEETING February 12, 2018
<br /> school systems; and, Whereas, the National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous
<br /> impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
<br /> School counselors are employed in public and private schools to help students reach their full
<br /> potential; and,Whereas,school counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their
<br /> abilities, strengths,interests,and talents as these traits relate to career awareness and development.
<br /> School counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal and social
<br /> growth of their children; and, Whereas, school counselors work with teachers and other educators
<br /> to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves. School counselors
<br /> seek to identify and utilize community resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive
<br /> school counseling programs and help students become productive members of society.
<br /> Comprehensive developmental school counseling programs are considered an integral part of the
<br /> educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school.
<br /> Ms. White stated,Now,therefore, be it Proclaimed by the Common Council of the City of South
<br /> Bend, Indiana, as follows: Section One (1). On behalf of the citizens of the City of South Bend,
<br /> Indiana, the South Bend Common Council publicly thanks and commends all of the school
<br /> counselors employed in our public and private school systems for positively engaging with our
<br /> youth,their parents, and fellow educators in helping further and enhance the educational,personal
<br /> and social growth of students and youth across our great nation. Section Two (2). The South Bend
<br /> Common Council hereby declares the week of February 5-9,2018 as National School Counseling
<br /> Week in South Bend, Indiana, and sincerely thanks all school counselors for their many
<br /> contributions aimed at the betterment of our youth, and especially thanks all school counselors
<br /> working in the City of South Bend, Indiana, for their dedication and service. Section Three (3).
<br /> This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council
<br /> and approval by the Mayor.
<br /> Dr. Yvonne Larrier,Associate Professor of Counseling and Human Services for IU—South Bend,
<br /> 1700 Mishawaka Avenue office EA 2271, South Bend,IN, stated, Our Department prepares stellar
<br /> counselors to go out into this world to work with our students and children in many facets and
<br /> settings. They don't only work with children. They work with the parents and teachers of those
<br /> children, too. They work with anyone that needs help. I am not sure how familiar the Council is
<br /> with the latest data and statistics on mental health in the US. To get a glimpse of what is happening
<br /> in our Country, one (1) in five (5) children ages thirteen(13)to eighteen(18)have, or will have, a
<br /> serious mental illness such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder. We also know that one (1)
<br /> in five (5) adults have a serious mental illness. So we look around the room and we wonder how
<br /> many people in this room have a mental illness. Eighty percent (80%) of that number will not get
<br /> treatment because there are treatment and practitioner gaps. So we know that in the South Bend
<br /> Area, the South Bend schools do not have elementary school counselors. It is incumbent on this
<br /> community to start looking at how we can further support our children.Not only at the high school
<br /> level but starting in the elementary and even in pre-kindergarten, we need to treat these children.
<br /> The behaviors we see exhibited in the elementary age groups is continued into adulthood and we
<br /> see that resulting in homelessness or the criminal justice system. Fifty percent (50%) of all life-
<br /> time cases of mental illness begin by the age of fourteen (14). Seventy-five percent (75%) of all
<br /> life-time cases of mental illness begin by the age of twenty-four(24). Thirty-seven percent(37%)
<br /> of students with a mental health condition, aged fourteen (14) and older, drop out of school. That
<br /> is the highest dropout rate of any disability group. Seventy percent (70%) of youth in state and
<br /> local juvenile justice systems have a mental illness. Mental illness is not just a school issue, it is a
<br /> community issue. We need to, as responsible stakeholders, engage all facets of our community. If
<br /> we want our communities to be whole, we need to be sure that all stakeholders are fully engaged.
<br /> Whatever we need to do to make that happen, we are here as a resource to provide support based
<br /> on our expertise. Our communities are suffering and when we add to that the opioid crisis our State
<br /> is facing, I think it is incumbent upon us to do something and not just sit back. Thank you.
<br /> Hope Davis, Interim Dean of the School of Education for IU — South Bend, 1700 Mishawaka
<br /> Avenue office EA 2273, South Bend, IN, stated, On behalf of the School of Education, I want to
<br /> thank Dr. Larrier and the Councilmembers for the work they have done to bring this issue to the
<br /> attention of the community. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and there are hundreds
<br /> (100s) of children that benefit daily from the work of counselors in our community. Thank you.
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