“You’re a human being, you’re not a human doing,” She said. “How are you taking care of you?”

Our Aliento Fellow, Gema Sanchez Gamez, was recently featured by Arizona Central. The article highlights the mental health aspect of the COVID19 pandemic, specifically how it affected Arizona’s students. Gema talks about her experience with school mental health systems and how life changed after schools closed.

It is clear that the mental health institutions of Arizona are lacking at best, and a disaster at worst. Arizona does not provide dedicated funds for school counselors, instead using inconsistent grant funds in order to keep mental health programs afloat. Of course, this all came to a head when the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of schools isolated many young students. 

As Gema adapted to this new abnormality, she had to learn how to cope and grow on her own. Life came to a standstill, and beneath it all, she dealt with the loss of her grandmother and an eating disorder. “I had to learn to sit with my thoughts, which was hard,” Gamez said. “I was thinking about, like, how I would have wanted to have more time with her and how I could still live a life that she'd be proud of on my own.”  All at once, all of the rigid schedules and structure which held her and her peers together, fell away.

As students’ social lives crumbled, organizations such as Aliento stepped-in. By holding virtual group therapy sessions and arts + healing workshops, Aliento provided a space to share; something all too scarce.

Nevertheless, as schools reopened, they brought with them a new hope, but also new problems. Outside was a constant public health risk, especially as most public schools stayed open through even the largest spikes in case numbers. “I’m trying not to feel fear after everything. That’s so hard,” Gamez said. It's a constant struggle for safety, especially when considering the potential impact on the lives of your family or friends. At the end of the day, mental health is a problem which doesn’t just linger, but continues to spread amongst teenagers. Being able to think things through and recognize its dangers is crucial. As Gema puts it, “You’re a human being, you’re not a human doing How are you taking care of you?”  

We’d like to thank the author Yana Kunichoff for helping tell the story of students’ mental health and highlighting our own Aliento fellow Gema Sanchez Gamez!