Explore Classroom-Ready & Community Resources on World Mental Health Day

Grades Pre K-K

How Mindfulness Can Help Kids (and Parents!) Weather Emotional Storms

Mindfulness tools won’t prevent emotional storms. Sometimes, that’s just what it means to be a kid (and an adult!). Yet being aware of our thoughts, our emotions, our surroundings and our breathing can help us remain anchored while we wait for the clouds to pass.

Grades 6-12

Hope Givers with Tamlin Hall Collection

An Emmy Award-winning, uplifting series highlighting hope and resilience across America! Episodes showcase real stories, animation shorts, youth self-care activities, student films, and musical performances. In every episode, resident mental health professional, Dr. Reef Karim, provides a very relatable breakdown for students, teachers, and parents. Themes include resilience, connectedness, advocacy, goal setting, and having a mentor/trusted adult.

Grades Pre K-5

How to Help Kids Who Are Too Hard on Themselves

Children’s inner monologue, or self-talk, can be constructive or negative. Learn why kids talk themselves down and how to help steer kids away from destructive self-talk.

Grades 6-12

Student Mental Health Matters | A Toolkit for Educators

Student Mental Health Matters: A Toolkit for Educators is designed to equip educators, school staff, and school mental health professionals with critical knowledge and strategies needed to support the mental well-being of their students. Video-based resources — produced by mental health organizations and public media producers — cover suicide prevention, stress and anxiety, self-harm, adverse childhood experiences, and social media.

Grades 3-12

Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Collection

Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids is a series of video and print resources that educators can use to teach their students critical mental health and coping skills. Resources (available in Spanish) are centered around understanding feelings, relaxation skills, understanding thoughts, managing intense emotions, and mindfulness. The materials available through this project seek to teach skills students can use for the rest of their lives, normalize conversations about mental wellbeing, and reflect the diversity of our communities.

Grades Pre K-2

Let’s Share a Story: “Ruby Finds a Worry” | Let’s Learn

Read Ruby Finds a Worry by Tom Percival with Darlene Thomas. After reading, Darlene introduces strategies for recognizing, labeling and managing stress.

Grades 1-3

Encouragement Jar

Daily encouragements help kids learn to support themselves when the going gets tough, as well as start the day off right! Your child can pull a card from their jar every morning or whenever she needs a boost.

Grades Pre K-3

11 Simple Self-Care Habits for Kids

Self-care isn’t selfish — it’s a basic need of being human! By teaching your child simple acts of self-care and including nurturing routines into your family life, you can show that taking care of ourselves, and each other, is important.

Grades 3-8

Stressin’ Out! | Spot on Science

Stressing out over an upcoming test or a big game at school? Dr. Lisa Rameriz explains how stress can actually be a good thing and what to do when it turns toxic.

Grades K-5

Simple Games That Explore Feelings | Arthur

Young children feel many emotions that they might not be able to name yet. And naming emotions is important — it’s the first step toward being able to manage big feelings. Help your child learn about different emotions with these simple activities from Arthur.

Behavioral Health Services North

Behavioral Health Services North is a not-for-profit organization committed to bringing treatment, rehabilitation and support to families, individuals, and communities in a responsive and cost-effective way. BHSN supports Clinton, Franklin and Essex County communities through a variety of clinical and crisis services, and treatments for psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Their 24/7 Crisis Helpline, (866) 577-3836, is available at all times for those who are struggling with mental health, substance use, trauma, violence or other difficulties that affect their emotional well-being.

Clinton County Mental Health & Addiction Services Clinic

Clinton County Mental Health & Addiction Services is a mental health clinic providing a number of services for the community, including psychotherapy, medication, and consultation/evaluation. Programs are for people of all ages, from children to adults, with mental health, trauma, and/or addiction issues. You can learn more on their Facebook page.

NAMI of Champlain Valley

NAMI-Champlain Valley is an affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. Located in Northern New York, NAMI-Champlain Valley provides free education, advocacy, and support services to all those affected (individuals and families) by brain disorders – including serious mental illnesses and/or emotional/behavioral disorders – in Clinton, Franklin, and Essex Counties. Visit their Facebook page for more info.

New York State Office of Mental Health

The mission of the New York State Office of Mental Health is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a particular focus on providing hope and recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Serving over 700,000 people each year, OMH operates psychiatric centers across the State and maintains a county-by-county Community Services Directory, amongst other tools.

Champlain Valley Family Center

Champlain Valley Family Center is a private, non-profit community-based organization dedicated to providing substance abuse treatment, prevention, education and related support programs to promote the well-being and quality of life for the residents of Clinton County, NY. Programs include those specifically aimed at family wellness and support.

The Trevor Project

Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award winning short film Trevor, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.

The Crisis Text Line

The Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7 mental health support via text message. All you need to do is text HELLO to 741-741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor. The Crisis Counselor helps you move from a hot moment to a cool calm to stay safe and healthy using effective active listening and suggested referrals – all through text message, using Crisis Text Line’s secure platform.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call in to The Lifeline at (800) 273-8255, or access more suicide prevention and mental health crisis care resources on their website.