Carmen needed help but she didn’t know how to ask for it. So she fought instead.

“Carmen was very aggressive and had no communication skills,” says her mother, Rosa. “She didn’t want to show her emotions, and everything bothered her. We used to think that she didn’t have any emotions because she wouldn’t express them.”

Thanks to you and your generosity, Carmen was able to receive the support she needed through our School Linked Services mental health care program. With therapy and activities tailored specifically for her age, Carmen began to understand her feelings and build skills for communicating her needs to those around her.

Initially very reserved, Carmen quickly warmed to her therapist. The interactive activities helped her feel comfortable and confident in acknowledging her emotions, communicating them to others, and advocating for what she needs.

Today, Carmen is more relaxed and talkative and ready to talk about what is going on in her life. She is motivated to better herself and to find what coping skills and mindfulness activities work for her.

“I love the program because it has helped me grow into speaking more comfortably about how I am feeling and allowed me to learn how to feel more comfortable being myself,” she says.

School staff, friends, and family all see the difference in Carmen. “[Now] when Carmen is having a bad day, she will journal about what happened or find a way to communicate how she is feeling and what she needs from us,” says her mom.

“Carmen has gone from being an aggressive elementary school student who would get into fights to a now motivated middle school student who wants to prioritize herself and her needs, but also demonstrates a deep yearning to support [her family] however best she can,” says her therapist, Ashley.

Thank you for making such a difference for Carmen and for providing critical mental health care to so many other schoolchildren like her. That’s a lifelong gift indeed!