Michelle, District Mental Health Coordinator: An Action Plan for Schools' Darkest Times

By Michelle Gonzales, Coordinator of Psychological Safety & Support Student Services Jeffco Public Schools

The HEARD Alliance Toolkit was there for us in our darkest times, in particular the postvention section, with school specific strategies and messaging following the deaths of students in our District. It also inspired us to create our own Toolkit for mental health promotion and best practice curricula across Tiers 1, 2 and 3.

It has become the foundation of our comprehensive efforts suicide prevention and crisis response and has served as the catalyst for us to implement highly effective evidence based practices.