Growing a Culture of Safety for Student Wellbeing

Earlier this month, the Coalition to Empower Our Future (CEF) was honored to partner with former Montana Governor and CEF Board Member Steve Bullock at the Jeremy Bullock Safe Schools Summit – an annual summit dedicated to creating safer, more supportive environments for young people.

Each year, Governor Bullock and the Jeremy Bullock Memorial Trust host a powerful gathering of educators, mental health experts, parents and community members who share a singular mission: to ensure that every child can learn in a space that is safe and supportive.

This year’s Jeremy Bullock Safe Schools Summit was a testament to that mission, featuring expert-led panels, workshops and discussions all centered on the theme of growing school safety culture. Speakers talked about school safety, student wellbeing, and strategies for better supporting and empowering young people.

CEF sponsored the summit’s youth panel, which brought together six high school students for an honest and insightful conversation about the challenges today’s youth face and the solutions they need to support their wellbeing.

Moderated by Caroline Bullock, Governor Bullock’s daughter, the discussion highlighted the many factors impacting youth mental health today, such as bullying, substance abuse, increased use of social media and devices, social isolation and exposure to violence. It served as a reminder that every child’s experience is unique, shaped by a complex interplay of personal circumstances, community environments, family upbringings and individual challenges. As such, solutions must be tailored and meaningful, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Moreover, the panel underscored the crucial role of involving young people themselves when thinking about solutions. In order to effectively support youth mental health and wellbeing, their voices must be central to the conversation to ensure that solutions are relevant, long-lasting, and responsive to their individual needs and experiences.

What became abundantly clear throughout the various panels was that the safety and wellbeing of young people is a shared responsibility. Parents, educators, coaches and community members all have a role to play, and as students across the country head back to school this fall, it’s important for everyone to work together to create spaces where students can learn and grow in safe and supportive environments.

Each student faces unique challenges, both in and out of the classroom, and that’s why mental health and wellbeing must be a part of the back-to-school conversation. By prioritizing youth mental health alongside academic and extracurricular goals, we can help students build resilience, confidence and a strong sense of belonging that prepares them for their future.

WATCH

Video features interviews with Governor Bullock; Caroline Bullock, Governor Bullock’s daughter and moderator of the youth panel sponsored by CEF; and Tammy Tolleson, a licensed school counselor and clinical social worker.

Transcript:

The Coalition to Empower our Future aims to bring together a broad array of stakeholders to address the challenges of youth mental health.

Kids are having a hard time. Kids are feeling hopeless, and they’re feeling more depressed than ever.

I think there’s a lot of challenges that students face today. This generation is facing a different landscape.

Kids face bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, social media, isolation, loneliness and so many other factors.

Youth mental health is definitely a complex challenge,

and the idea that there’s just one cookie-cutter approach to deal with youth mental health and wellbeing is misplaced.

The biggest thing we as community members really need to do is just tackle the stigma of mental health.

None of us have the same story. Every child is unique.

First, we listen, we listen to kids, we listen to parents, we listen to teachers, we listen to community members, and we value and respect each of their voices.

It’s really powerful, I think, when people come together.

There’s always an opportunity for us to do better for our youth, for our students and for our schools.

There’s great reason for optimism. My kids in this generation are more attuned to the challenges of mental health.

Policymakers in D.C. and in our states are taking notice.

We need all of our voices in order to make real change.

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