Recently, The Whole Child sent staff members and clients to Sacramento for Advocacy Day, an opportunity to connect with state legislators and staffers on issues before the State Assembly and Senate. Andrea Serrano, Lead Educator in our Parent Enrichment program, told us about her experiences with clients Heather, Alma, and Janet advocating for SB509. The bill is designed to transform how teachers and school administrators are trained in spotting early signs of mental health issues in kids. Alma, an active PTA member at her children’s school, spoke with government officials about experiences there that led to another student being isolated from their class instead of receiving the support and treatment they truly required.
“It was so wonderful to see our clients engage with other parents and to hear their voices as they advocated for SB509,” said Andrea. “Within our home visiting program, we like to empower our families to speak up and fight for the services they need, so to see them in action was extremely beautiful. I truly admire the parents in our program.”
We are very happy to say that SB509 passed in the California Senate earlier this week.
