As the holidays are coming up students and staff could be getting more stressed and their mental health could be declining. We wanted to find out how many students know about the helplines the school provides, and if they are useful. The crisis system in Colorado includes a 24-hour hotline staffed by professional counselors, a peer line, a walk-in crisis center, and a few more. These hotlines were launched in August 2014.

“Yes, I do know about the holiday hotlines. I think that the hotlines are useful if people use them but if they don’t, then I don’t think they are that useful,” said teacher Lance Lammers. 

Students who know about the hotlines say they would go to the counselors first. 

“Yes, I know about the holiday hotlines but I don’t think they are useful because no one uses them. I think that the counselors do an ok,” said 9th grader Adrienne Hernandez. 

Some worry about calling because they don’t know if they can keep their name private. 

“Yes, I do know about the hotlines. They are useful but I think it should be up to the person to stay anonymous. I think that the counselors should talk to the students if they are going to call their parents because it could cause more mental health problems at home. Every day I feel stressed about school. It just depends on if I have a really big assignment due,” said Danni Arce Ramirez (9). 

Some staff members like the idea of the phone line as a way to vent their stress and frustrations, “I did not know about the holiday hotline. I do think they are helpful because you can call if you need them,” ” I do get stressed out because I’m the one who creates the schedule for some of the other workers. The school can be understanding of things going on at home,” said Angel Aguilar.