Page 4 - aruba-today-20210201

A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 1 February 2021
Lawmakers push mental health days for kids amid pandemic

By SOPHIA EPPOLITO home, that's not mental ill-
Associated Press/Report for ness necessarily," Winder
America said. "But maybe they need
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — that day to catch their
When she was growing up, breath and maintain their
Sophie Corroon struggled mental health."
to get through a ballet Under the Utah bill, which
class or soccer tryout with- passed out of committee
out having an anxiety at- Friday and will move to the
tack. House floor, mental health
The idea of going to days would be treated
sleepovers or being home like any other excused ab-
alone left her feeling pan- sence, Winder said. A par-
icked. Corroon's anxiety ent would need to excuse
grew even more during their child, and students
high school in Salt Lake would still be expected to
City, when the pressures of make up their schoolwork.
getting into college left her In Arizona, specific mental
in tears at school or toiling health day policies would
for hours on assignments. be up to each school dis-
Corroon, now 20, has strug- trict, Bowie said.
gled with her mental health Theresa Nguyen, a licensed
since fourth grade, and clinical social worker, said
she's not alone. And now, Sophie Corroon, a sophomore at the University of Washington, poses for a photo on the school's she's concerned about the
the coronavirus pandemic campus Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, in Seattle. potential long-term mental
has multiplied the pressures Associated Press and academic effects that
on kids — many have spent students may face from the
almost a year doing remote Oregon, Maine, Colorado has been extra hard, and Bowie said he's confident it pandemic. In addition to
learning, isolated from their and Virginia in the past two we know that it's hard for will be signed into law. The growing reports of anxiety
friends and classmates. The years. young people," Plotnick bill passed the state Senate and depression, Nguyen
portion of children's emer- Offering mental health said. "That's why it's so es- unanimously Thursday. said, many students say
gency-room visits related days can help children sential that students feel Conservative Utah passed they don't feel like they're
to mental health was 44% and parents communicate comfortable to come for- a law in 2018 letting kids absorbing class mate-
higher in 2020, compared and prevent struggling stu- ward and say ... 'I need to take time off school for a rial virtually and they're not
with the year before. dents from falling behind take some actions to sup- mental illness. A new pro- getting enough support.
State lawmakers are in- in school or ending up in port my mental health.'" posal from Republican "They feel like, 'Nobody
creasingly seeking more crisis, said Debbie Plotnick, In Arizona, Democratic Sen. Rep. Mike Winder would al- cares that I'm struggling,
support for kids. This year, vice president of the non- Sean Bowie has introduced low absences for students so I'm basically being com-
legislation proposed in profit advocacy group a mental health day mea- to deal with other kinds of municated to that I need
Utah and Arizona would Mental Health America. sure for the second time mental pressures to further to just deal with it by my-
add mental or behavioral Plotnick said mental health after legislation stalled in normalize treating a men- self,'" said Nguyen, Men-
health to the list of reasons days can be even more ef- March as the pandemic tal health concern like a tal Health America's chief
students can be absent fective when paired with took hold. Republican Gov. physical one. program officer. "And for
from class, similar to staying mental health services in Doug Ducey has taken an "If a student has a panic a lot of youth, that means
out with a physical illness. schools. interest in youth suicide attack today, because of increased self-harm and
Similar laws have passed in "We know that this year and mental health, and some drama going on at suicide."q

Major storm heads to Northeast after blanketing Midwest

storm that could dump well we've seen in a decade," al Weather Service said.
over a foot of snow in many Chris Stumpf, meteorologist Much of the region could
areas, create blizzard-like with the National Weather see blizzard-like conditions,
conditions and cause trav- Service in Sullivan, Wiscon- with a foot to 18 inches of
el problems for the next few sin, told the Milwaukee snow. Temperatures were
days. Journal Sentinel. expected to be in the up-
The storm system blanketed Three to 5 inches of snow per 20s to lower 30s for the
parts of the Midwest in the arrived in central Ohio by New York City metro area.
most snow some places early Sunday, making for The snow was expected to
had seen in several years. some slippery roads. Wash- start falling in Massachu-
Chicago got almost 7 ington, D.C., and parts of setts on Monday morning,
inches of snow by Sunday Virginia had also received bringing up to a foot of
morning, leading to the some snow, with up to 3 snow to impact the eve-
cancellation of a couple inches in some areas. By ning commute. The storm
hundred flights at the city's the afternoon, the snow will reach northern New
two airports. In Wisconsin, was expected to reach England later that night,
"Rosie" runs in the snow on the National Mall in front of the U.S. snow depths in some coun- Pennsylvania. meteorologists said.
Capitol, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Washington. ties near Lake Michigan Heavy snow falling at an Winds strong enough to
Associated Press had reached more than 15 inch to 3 inches an hour bring down tree branches
inches, and the snow was was forecast for Monday in with gusts ranging from 35
By The Associated Press peratures, the Northeast still falling. New York, New Jersey and to 50 mph were forecast for
After days of frigid tem- braced for a whopper of a "That's more snow than Connecticut, the Nation- the storm.q