SAC Corner

Issue No. 6

February

Schools are 3rd-highest location for hate crimes in USA: FBI

Secondary schools saw the highest amount of hate crimes from 2018 - 2022
In 2022, 1,300+ hate crimes at schools & colleges (890 in secondary schools)
Anti-Black hate crimes were highest with 1,690 offenses at schools
745 Anti-Jewish hate crimes over 5 year period
741 Anti-LGBTQ hates crimes over 5 year period
30%+ of juvenile victims of hate crimes experienced the offense at school
36% of juvenile offenders committed the offense at school
2022 was an uptick of hate crimes in schools (when students returned fully post COVID)
2019-2020 3.9% drop was likely due to being at home during COVID
Most common time of year for hate crimes at schools is October-December (32.7% offenses reported for this quarter)
During the 5yr period, Oct-Dec had 4 hate crime offenses per day in schools across the country
Intimidation was/is the biggest form of hate crime, then vandalism, then assault

On TikTok, the topic of lying to your therapist has over 600 million views...

It is becoming common to use therapy wisely and for many different reasons, such as:

People pleasing - wanting your therapist to think they're doing a good job so you say all is good
Making it real- sometimes saying things out loud makes them feel real and you are avoiding that
Omitting - leaving things out until you're more comfortable or to make things seem better
Buddies - you're trying to make your therapist laugh (dark humor or not) rather than get deep into things

If any of this sounds like you then you'll want to ask your therapist to call you out on it, or call yourself out on it, so you can break the habit. If it is about comfort then you need to think if a different therapist may make you feel more comfortable, or if this one needs to know you're still struggling to get there.

Lying through therapy isn't therapy, it's wasting your time that could be helping you.

School Absenteeism AKA Teen Truancy

Take your pick for reasons: pandemic impacts, problems at home, problems at school, mental health issues (experienced by 87% of Gen Z), substance use, boredom, disengagement, bullying, friend drama, breakups, self isolation

Truancy vs School Refusal
Truancy is not excused by school and not permitted by caregivers. Refusal is not excused by the school, but the caregivers are well aware of it.

Chronic absence (missing 10% + of school) has doubled from 2018-19 and 2021-22 and is at 28%.

Not being in school for unexcused absences can lead to:

decline in school performance
having to repeat classes or grades
loneliness
loss of friendships
increased mental health problems
increase in risky behaviors
family conflict
criminal charges

Being Proactive

ReThink

Detects "hate" before you post it and prompts you to stop & think if you want to post it. 93% of kids changed their mind when prompted their post may be hateful/bullying.

Trigger Warning Database

If there is certain content you may be sensitive to, check books here before reading

Does The Dog Die (a trigger warning database)

If there is certain content you may be sensitive to, check movies, tv shows, and more here before starting.

Safety Plan

SAMHSA provides free safety plan templates to use when in crisis or as a preventative conversation starter

Teen Mental Health Temperature Check

Newport Academy is offering a guide on how to do a mental health temperature check w/ your teen using 10 questions. Newport Academy also offers ways to incorporate evidence based "temperature" lowering activities into your teen's life and routine.

Take It Down

Website dedicated to removing exploitive images of minors.

Megan Thee Stallion's site for Mental Health Resources

CAUTION: the website title and linked song both use language deemed inappropriate.
Resource for: therapy, BIPOC specific resources, free therapy, suicide, crisis, substance use, LGBTQIA+, & more

Haddonfield Virtual Wellness Room

A place to go when you're stressed out, bummed, or feeling not yourself and need some resources to help reset yourself.