Why have societies historically placed a premium on kindness? How do human connections impact our physiology? Why do we keep needing to remind ourselves to be kind? And what would happen if an entire county were to embrace kindness? These are some of the questions posed by Orange County Superintendent Dr. Al Mijares in the latest edition of The Deeper Learning Podcast. In this first episode of 2018, Dr. Mijares takes listeners on a quest to learn more about kindness, reaching out to a number of prominent figures including neurosurgeon and author Dr. James Doty, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, California State PTA President-elect Celia Jaffe and others.
Student Advocates for Mental Health
The goals of the Student Advocates for Mental Health program are to engage, train, and support student leadership groups in youth-led efforts to increase mental health awareness, promote suicide prevention, reduce stigma, and increase access to support services on school campuses and in the community. To accomplish these goals, the program offers education, guidance, materials and resources through the following components: Peer-influencer Workshops, Peer-led Campaigns, Directing Change Projects and Mental Health Awareness Activities. All services are available for Orange County public, private and charter schools at no cost. The Student Advocates for Mental Health program is administered by the Orange County Department of Education and funded by the Orange County Health Care Agency, Behavioral Health Services, Prevention & Intervention, Mental Health Services Act/Prop. 63. To learn more, please visit the SAMH website at https://ocde.us/SAMH/Pages/default.aspx.