Mental healthcare for four Oakland schools

Four schools in East Oakland will be offering something new to their student populations - psychological therapy.

The Fruitvale-San Antonio Mental Health Cooperative says it will provide the students with professional help, so the students could avoid a path of drugs, guns, and violence. It's a way to vent their anger and daily frustrations in a healthy way. The Oakland Schools Foundation, formerly the Oakland Small Schools Foundation, aims to raise $50,000 more for the 2010-11 school year and $150,000 for the following year — the total cost of the project.

The pilot program was intiated by Oakland Community Organizations.

Mental health services will be provided or expanded at:

Life Academy, a small high school temporarily located on the Calvin Simmons campus

ARISE, a charter high school near the Fruitvale BART Station

ASCEND, a small elementary school in Fruitvale, and

International Community School, an elementary school in the Cesar Chavez Education Center, also in Fruitvale.

How important is mental healthcare for kids and teens? Consider these numbers, provided by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry:

- At any point in time, 1 in every 10 children and adolescents are affected by serious emotional disturbances, like depression. Major depression can lead to school failure, alcohol and drug use, and even suicide.

- Conduct disorder affects 1 to 4 percent of 9- to 17-year-olds.

- Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling brain disorder. It affects about 1% of Americans. Psychotic symptoms usually appear in males during their late teens.

You can read more, here.