The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the need for social-emotional learning and mental health support for students and staff across the state of Michigan. To help support this need, the BHC:PHS program has partnered with another University of Michigan school-based program called TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students). In 2013, the University of Michigan initiated the TRAILS program to bring effective mental health care to school aged children and adolescents. BHC:PHS began to partner with TRAILS in 2020 with first offering all program schools access to the Teacher Self-Care Modules. With this program, PHS wellness coordinators facilitate four, 30-minute sessions, with school staff participants at individual schools to cultivate their own emotional wellness through learning opportunities, meaningful discussions, and short activities. In 2021, BHC:PHS expanded the TRAILS partnership and piloted their Tier 1 program to our 6 new BHC:PHS schools. This additional layer of programming provided social and emotional learning (SEL) for the classroom to promote resiliency and build self-regulation skills in all students. This new student curriculum offering, coupled with the self-care strategies for staff to counter stress and burnout, have had an enormous positive impact for our school communities. BHC:PHS is thrilled to announce that our partnership with TRAILS will continue onward as we further expand our collaborations into the 2022-2023 school year!
