WOBURN – Woburn Memorial High School is pleased to share that the Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Education recently partnered with WMHS and the NAN Project to hold a roundtable discussion in recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
On Sept. 28, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh and Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler partnered with the Nan Project for an event at WMHS.
The event was highlighted by a roundtable discussion about mental health in schools that included Secretaries Walsh and Tutwiler, along with Jake Cavanagh and his team of peer mentors from the Nan Project and several WMHS students – Mia Poncia, Summer St. Inge, Noah Mammino, Lucas Berg, Tayla Berg, Haadi Bilal, and Ryan Lush.
“Our WMHS students made comments that sparked a bigger discussion about the challenges and considerations to make regarding students’ mental health and access to self-care,” said School Adjustment Counselor Loren Baccari. “All state and district leaders were impressed with these students’ candor and decorum.”
Sen. Cindy Friedman, Superintendent Matthew Crowley and Assistant Superintendent Courtney Young, WMHS Principal Daniel Rasanen and staff members Lori Duran, Lindsey Oura, Mike Carbone, and Intern Brunna Afonso, School Committee Members Ellen Crowley and Colleen Cormier, City of Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, and representatives from community mental health resources also took part in the event.
WMHS Wellness Department Head Diane Ivester, Wellness Teacher Lori Duran, and School Adjustment Counselor Baccari work annually with the NAN Project on suicide and mental health awareness in all first-year wellness classes.
Secretary Walsh also presented a proclamation to Cavanagh and the NAN Project team during the event for their work in promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs using a peer-to-peer model in surrounding communities and schools.
“We are proud to be a district that values open discussion about highly stigmatized topics like mental health,” said Superintendent Crowley. “Thank you to everyone who helped to put this event together, including Loren Baccari and Diane Ivester, Maureen Trickett for her work setting up in the library, Secretaries of State Walsh and Tutwiler and the NAN Project Team for facilitating, and all the community leaders who helped make this roundtable discussion a success.”
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