Attalla City Schools has received a grant to provide additional mental health support for middle and high school students through a partnership with MAXimizing Mental Health, Inc.
The grant will provide the high school and middle school with a mental health professional for 12 months for a five-year period, including during the summer, according to Matt Miller, superintendent of Attalla City Schools.
School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network, which provides the grant funds, is a private company that has worked with more than 365 school districts across nine states, most of which are in the Southeast, according to its website.
“Any time we can do things for our kids to give them resources, we get excited about that,” Miller said. “It’s just another resource for them.”
The program is designed to address chronic absenteeism, behavioral concerns, social-emotional well-being and preventive mental health care, according to David Cochran, executive director of MAXimizing Mental Health.
Etowah Middle School and Etowah High School serve more than 1,000 students, and currently share one counselor.
“The three things that we know are counseling works, it’s hard to get in with counselors and once you get in, it’s sometimes very difficult to pay,” Cochran said. “If we focus on those three things, we can help.”
Miller, who recently accepted the position as superintendent, said MAXimizing reached out to him when he stepped into the role in March about a partnership with the potential of receiving a grant.
“I was excited when they reached out and really didn’t think about it again for a while,” Miller said. “Until they called me last week and said that we had got the grant. It’s exciting news for our school system and our community.”
Since 2020, MAXimizing Mental Health has worked to connect individuals and families with counseling services regardless of their financial situation. The nonprofit grew out of the experience of David and Kelly Cochran after the death of their son, Max, and the family’s struggle to navigate mental health care.
Cochran described MAXimizing Mental Health as a conduit connecting people with trusted providers. Rather than offering counseling directly, the organization partners with mental health professionals and helps cover the cost of treatment for those who otherwise could not afford it.
“We don’t even know their names,” Cochran said. “They would just say there’s an individual here today that can’t afford counseling. We’d say, ‘Yes, we will.'”
To preserve privacy, partnering counselors simply notify the organization when someone is unable to afford treatment, and the organization helps cover the expense.
Since its founding, the organization has paid for more than 4,500 mental health counseling sessions, according to Cochran.
“It gives us an opportunity to connect people with counselors that we know and trust,” Cochran said. “Counseling is not good for someone unless they want to go, and finding the right person is part of the process.”
Alabama ranks among the states with the fewest school psychologists, with roughly one psychologist for every 7,500 students, according to Vocovision. Nearly 59 percent of students who experienced a major depressive episode did not receive treatment.
“We’re still in a crisis,” Cochran said. “I get calls daily. This is just not going away. We’ve got to deal with it one way or another.”
