The BILA Wave

By Keiera Calderon

Ever had a bad day where you felt all odds were against you and you had no one to talk to? Well say no more! Visit the Wellness Room! A wonderful place — a judgement free zone — where you can pour out your feelings and share your thoughts, our social workers there to guide and understand you every step of the way, showing that they care.

Why is mental health so important?

Day by day, we notice that young teens — our peers and acquaintances — are battling mental health issues by themselves. The rates of teens suffering from anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are sky-rocketing, becoming more frequent than we’d like to admit. Shockingly a whopping 50% of all lifetime mental illnesses begin at age 14! Beyond that 42% of teens experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and 22% of teens have seriously considered attempting suicide, according to the Compass Health Center. Nobody should have to endure these tribulations on their own, there should always be a helping hand that you can rely on, whether that be in your school community or at home.

BILA’s Contribution

Just this year, Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts established a room specifically for students to freely express themselves and seek comfort. You may have seen this room as you pass by on your way to class, with our two social workers sitting at their seats or mediating with a student. Many school staff i.e teachers, admin, support staff, have limited knowledge about how to support students’ mental health; that’s where local school social workers come in and act as conduits between community mental health foundations and willing students.

As reported by the UCLA Center for Transformation of Schools, “A wellness space provides students with a physical space to focus on self-care, develop healthy coping habits, and reduce their levels of anxiety and stress.” Having this outlet at our school has the potential of helping many students get the help they need.

Ms. Teclai, aka Ms. Tec, is our very own social worker. Ms. Tec, says, “BILA’s Wellness Room is a place where we’re able to speak with students regarding their social-emotional issues. Anything relative to their mental health. Or they can use this space as a way to emotionally regulate or regulate their moods. If there’s any time that they’re feeling angry, upset, or they feel overwhelmed, they can use this space.”

Who Will You Expect to Meet There?

You may see your friends, classmates, random schoolmates, and other teachers coming by here-and-there, but the main faces will be our social workers. They conduct boy and girl groups on separate days during the week; and private sessions when a student just needs to vent.

There, you can find Ms. Tec, whose official job title is a social work supervisor and site manager. You can find her at her seat, either deep in conversation with a student or with a cheery smile whilst talking to her colleague, Ms. Vincent.

In addition, Ms. Vincent is our social work intern and she’s here with us on Mondays and Wednesdays, always looking forward to getting to know her students. She’s also usually conducting private sessions with students or engaging in conversation with Ms. Teclai.

You might be rushing to class when you catch sight of one of the social workers sitting opposite to a student, looking very serious with the door closed. That’s how you know it’s a private session and it’s rude to intrude.

Ms. Tec explained, “We give them some space. We ask them if they would like to talk to one of us and then when they do agree to talk to one of us, we ask if both of us can be present. If not, the other person leaves the room and we’re able to have more personal conversations with the students about what it is that’s bothering them.”

What To Know !

Located in Room C231, the Wellness Room is an open space where all students are welcome. Ms. Tec elaborates on this saying that, “It is on the second floor. It’s the room with all the comfy couches inside of it, so you can’t miss it.”

At lunch, groups are held where students as a collective can come together and express themselves. “We also hold groups. Groups, but based off of peer-mentoring, which is a place for students to learn about mediation, and being a mentor. There’s groups like girls groups. We’re separating them because students have different lunches, and then boy groups as well,” Ms. Tec unravels.

Ms. Tec adds on, “If you are feeling unwell and you need a space, then we’re here; we’re present. Ms. Vincent is here on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I’m here all days of the week. So…and of course Ms. Philip is here all days of the week as well.”

One student, Allison Dodard (B9), supports this by saying, “When I think about the wellness room, I feel like it’s a safe place to be and you can talk about how you feel. You can tell people about you or how you feel about the school, and if you’re in a bad mood or you wanna let your emotions out, the wellness room is the right place to do that.”