As part of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, HISD is partnering with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Greater Houston to get the word out on suicide prevention measures and how to talk to teens about suicide without increasing the risk of harm.
Last December, NAMI Greater Houston trained 16 new volunteers to speak at middle and high school campuses about mental health wellness, mental illness, how to be a friend of someone dealing with mental health challenges, and suicide intervention. This past summer, NAMI volunteers began working with HISD to train district administrators, social workers, special education case managers, and other employees.
HISD has its own Crisis Intervention team, which is part of the new Social and Emotional Learning department. There are nine psychologists on staff under the direction of Dr. Lauren Goonan. All are licensed as both psychologists and as specialists in school psychology in the State of Texas.