02-05-2025
Nazareth University summit sets students up for success in mental health field
PITTSFORD, N.Y. (WROC) – May marks Mental Health Awareness Month. Faculty and staff at Nazareth University welcomed local high school students to campus Thursday. The group of more than 50 students are all interested in pursuing a career in mental health services.
Program leaders say the goal is to help fill positions still greatly needed locally and nationwide.
'I hope to get questions answered and kind of know what I'm going to do when I graduate,' said Hannah Ince, a senior at Greece Arcadia High School.
Students attended Nazareth's summit from Greece, Dundee, Geneva, Lyons, and Seneca Falls Central School Districts.
'The needs for mental health services have been dramatically rising. Waitlists at community mental health visits are high,' said Erin Cole, an assistant professor of social work at Nazareth University.
The summit, she says, is the first step in a four-course journey that begins during high school students' junior years and extends through graduation.
However, the future of programs like this are in jeopardy following the removal of $40 million from the NYS Education Department.
'It's devastating. It's devastating to our kids. It's devastating to our profession and to the mental health professionals we work with – but mostly, the kids. With our programs, we work with and service thousands and thousands of kids, not just in the region but grantees all over the state whose funding has just been eliminated. People are going to be out of jobs,' said Hennessey Lustica, who serves as the community schools mental health director for Seneca Falls CSD.
The funding cut also comes as a persistent workforce shortage lingers in psychology services in New York State and across the U.S.
Local leaders say already, they've hired nearly 90 percent of the students they trained back into regional positions.
While there is still interest in the field at the collegiate level, officials say it's not enough and further reason why programs like Nazareth's summit are helping to make a difference.
'That's the problem. We have this workforce shortage, and at the same time, there's this projection that there's going to be a boom in jobs and we don't have a pipeline to get folks there before the graduate level,' said Lustica.
Despite this, program leaders are hopeful an initiative like the summit is only the beginning, so that a similar curriculum can extend across New York State if approved in the future.
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