SAN JOSE – As children return to school across the Bay Area, schools are grappling with increasing mental health issues among students. Three years into the pandemic, many school districts are still playing catch-up to deal with a surge in cases.
When Cassandra Lopez, a student at East San Jose’s William C. Overfelt High School, was just 9 years old, she knew something was wrong with her.
“I used to cry a lot and I didn’t even know why,” she recalls. “My head felt very heavy.”
For years, Lopez prayed it was just a phase. But once the pandemic hit, things started to spin out of control.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t leave the house,” she recalls. “I didn’t really want to eat. I couldn’t get out of bed.”
It got so bad that she tried to take her own life not once but twice in 2021. It was during a chance encounter at her school that she was finally able to turn her situation around.
“I was crying in this hallway, and that’s when I met Lazarus,” Lopez said, pointing to a corner of the hallway.
Lazaro Jaimes is a school social worker. For the past few years, Lopez has met once a week. And while her road to recovery is far from over, she has found what she thought she lost: her hope.
“I realized that life has a lot of meaning,” Lopez said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in four high school students have experienced similar challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lopez’s school district has recorded a 60% spike in mental health referrals since the pandemic began. That’s one reason the district spent most of its coronavirus relief funds on hiring more social workers rather than new computers.
The school’s principal, Vito Chiara, said the funds allowed him to hire Jaimes, essentially doubling the school’s mental health staff. This meant that the wellness center could remain open all day, rather than just for a few hours.
“First and foremost, we have to care about who they are as human beings, who they are as human beings,” Chiara said. We then help them grow and fully recover and participate in school and education. ”
Jaimes said she can’t believe how many students need help.
“There was a lot of anxiety and depression, and many students were struggling with suicidal thoughts,” he told KPIX.
As for Lopez, these days she is a happy senior with dreams of becoming a social worker herself.
“I just want to be around people who are feeling this way, because no one should ever feel alone,” she said.