Mental health has been a topic of concern in schools statewide. A dire need for school counselors across New Mexico is at an all-time high, according to the New Mexico Parent Teacher Association. Jeannie Humphrey, a mother of three and district manager with New Mexico Parent Teacher Association believes it's a problem left unaddressed."Mental health was already a huge issue before the pandemic, but everything was just exacerbated. It made much worse after the kids were isolated. They weren't allowed to be with each other. They couldn't go to school and socialize. They became more addicted to social media," said district manager of New Mexico Parent Teacher Association. "I have three kids, and so the way that the schools deal with it really matters to me. It concerns me that there are not enough mental health providers in our state, period, but definitely the schools are lacking in mental health providers."However, Humprey believes it's a community effort, but said it starts at home."Parents need to be willing to have these conversations grandparents, aunts and uncles and neighbors. We need to be willing to have those conversations because mental illness, even if it is something that you don't feel comfortable with. It's important that we take responsibility because we can't just let our kids fall through the cracks. We have to be willing to have those hard conversations."Carol Hernandez, mother of two worries most students are left to pick the pieces. "I see depression, I see anxiety. I see so many issues at school that are just simply ignored because there is not there's not enough help at the schools. You know, even teachers, they can only do so much. One thing we need to do is start holding our schools accountable and providing the information of where the money for mental health is going and make sure it's being used appropriately," Hernandez said. "So, that's one thing I'd like to see, but I would like to see a program where, you know, maybe a volunteer program, maybe a program where you get a pre-certification before you get your certification for mental health, where they can go in and talk to students, students that are not in a great amount of need. You know, we obviously have to figure out the level of need, but students who just need somebody to listen to them and to talk to them." Humprey believes now is the time to act."The community, the parents, the teachers in the state need to be working together to make sure that we fix these problems. It needs to be taken so seriously because these are kids lives and this is the future of our state that's at stake, the future of our nation. I think mental health needs to become top priority. Obviously, we're not doing well in education either. If we don't start with our children's mental health, then we can never — traumatize kids don't learn. So, we need to start providing scholarships, especially to make sure that it's including all the cultures in New Mexico, that scholarships are given to increase the diversity of students that are going into counseling," she said. "A huge recruitment media advertisement to say why this is a good career for you, providing scholarships, not just, you know, we have the lottery scholarship that helps students to be able to pay for school. But beyond that, there's expenses of books and housing. I provide those for students who are going to go into the helping type of careers like nursing and counseling and teaching. I know that there's beginning to be a lot of programs for teachers like that where it's giving them fellowship opportunities. The same thing needs to happen with school counselors, and then beyond that, they need to increase the pay of school counselors." "Encouraging counselors that are outside of the school to becoming getting the right certifications so they can come into the school and provide the services because they already have the experience, maybe in their private practice," she continued. "We know there is a shortage right now of counselors. There's definitely is, but I know that there's a lot of money being dumped into the school systems for mental. What are our schools doing with that money and how is it meant? How is it impacting our students? What it's supposed to be for is to impact our students and help their mental health. So, what exactly is being done with that money? That's one of my questions, because I'm seeing a lot of money flow go in, but I'm not seeing the students come out in a healthy, healthier way," Hernandez said. "The reason I can see that is because I was formerly a coach at our school, so I had a lot of insight when it came to the students. I knew a lot of what was going on. It's a touchy situation because somebody who's not educated in mental health is really not able to help the kids the way we should be able to, because times are different now. You can't just have a conversation and wish them well."Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office sent a statement to KOAT:"The governor is acutely aware of the need for increased mental health supports for all New Mexicans, including our students, and expanding access continues to be a top priority of this administration. The state will propose significant additional resources to improve mental and behavioral health services in schools in the upcoming session, including, but not limited to:The Public Education Department’s proposed budget provides millions for behavioral health supports, including funding to recruit, train and retain qualified behavioral health professionals and establish several additional School-Based Health Centers. It also includes additional support for community-based schools, which leverage strong family and community engagement to bolster social services for students. The budget also proposes $17 million to strengthen the state’s Attendance for Success Act, which funds counseling, health, and mental health strategies to keep students engaged in school. In addition, the Public Education Department is working in collaboration with the Human Services Department to ensure Medicaid pays for more students to receive in-school services, including counseling and other medical supports."