Vuela for Health is an extraordinary organization. The Pinnacle K-12 Counseling Team met with the Vuela team earlier this school year to discuss the Vuela programs and how to incorporate them at Pinnacle. From this conversation, Youth Mental Health First Aid was created directly for our parents. Over 20 parents participated and received their First Aid certification in the very first session. Pinnacle and Vuela are looking at starting a second session early in April. In addition, Pinnacle counselors are looking at doing this same course for English-speaking parents in March through another organization.
This experience was extremely positive for all who participated. Parents were able to hear from other parents and share their own experiences. All those who graduated from this class were able to walk away with their course book to further help their students and other children in the family. All participants mentioned they are looking forward to attending additional programming that is similar. Though parents stated they felt more knowledgeable after the course, they also felt there was much more they could learn. There is a lot of helpful and valuable information regarding mental health, especially when it comes to young children and teenagers.
In addition, the Pinnacle counseling department will be introducing "Familas Fuertes” to help our parents and students learn to better communicate with each other. This will be open for all parents who have children between the ages of 10 and 14. We hope to have this rolled out in April – we will provide more information as it becomes available.
We heard parents saying the following:
- "Me gusto y aprendi mucho" (I liked it and I learned a lot)
- "Quisiera seguir viniendo para seguir aprendiendo" (I'd like to continue to come so that I can continue learning)
- " Aprendí que puedo ayudar a mis hijos pero posiblemente a otros jóvenes" (I learned that I can help my children but that I can possibly also help other adolescents)
Thank you to all parents who attended this inaugural event – we look forward to many more. Together, we can raise awareness and take action toward helping Pinnacle students have better mental health both at home and at school.