CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chase Howard, a student at Palisades High School, says many of his peers are suffering.
Limited mental health resources are only making things worse and kids are finding their own ways to cope.
"I completely understand wanting something to get away from reality because the stuff kids are dealing with is real," Howard said. "I see an increase in vaping in bathrooms, fighting, and it's leading to an increase in harder drugs."
Howard is encouraging school leaders to invest in more permanent solutions to combat the rise in crime.
According to Public Schools First NC's website, the nationally recommended ratio for schools is one psychologist for every 500 students.
Recent data shows that in North Carolina public schools, there’s one psychologist for every 2,000 students.
"Access to psychologists outside of school is not easy," Howard said. "That’s why public education is so important to provide opportunities to students who may not have it otherwise."
Aneisha Jackson, a school counselor, said the more trained professionals, the better.
"Psychologists are able to see kids who are having learning challenges and they're able to help diagnose and try to figure out the best way to support them," Jackson said.
The data also highlights a gap in the number of school counselors with the recommendation being one counselor to 250 students. In North Carolina, the ratio is one counselor to more than 360 students.
"They don’t need me every two weeks, they need me every week, but sometimes it's not feasible," Jackson said."We do what we can and we make our 25 minutes really count."
As psychologists and counselors like Jackson continue to work to meet each child where they are, students like Howard are looking forward to changes in schools and communities, where more students have access to mental health resources.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.