MT. PLEASANT, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – First Lady Jill Biden was in Mt. Pleasant Sunday to hear about mental health challenges for children and young adults.
Biden talked to students, teaches, and mental health professionals with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
Biden talked about “Project Aware” which helps students mental health issues. Project Aware was partially funded by the American Rescue Plan.
She was joined by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
Murthy facilitated the discussion, while Biden spoke with teachers and tribe members directly impacted by mental health struggles.
“I wanted to come see this program because I thought, I said to my staff, what are we doing, you know, to help the teachers,” Biden said.
Director of Tribal Education Melissa Isaac spoke about, “Project Aware,” a new initiative helping students with grief and depression.
“We need to know what the problem is to get better, and we reached out to behavioral health and came up with a list of traumas and realized that 83% of our students have one of those traumas, and those are known traumas,” Isaac said.
Biden spoke about her own experiences as a teacher, comforting educators and students during the pandemic.
“We all sort of expected that it would be a struggle,” Biden said. “It’s even more than we could ever imagine.”
