By Vy Nguyen
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) will be receiving its first WellSpace center on campus, as a haven between classes where students can go whenever they are stressed. Voted by students, the WellSpace will be named ‘Le Sanctuaire,’ following FVHS’ rich French history.
As part of a movement to combat the teen mental health crisis, the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) and Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) have created WellSpaces in high school campuses throughout the county, hoping to use the WellSpace as a way to encourage mindful breaks during the busy day of a typical student’s life.
Declining mental health in teens was brought into awareness by the OCDE over four years ago, which has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Mar. 12, 2019, the Orange County Board of Supervisors invested $600,000 towards the county’s first suicide-prevention program, in partnership with MindOC and Be Well Orange County. As two partnering organizations dedicated to spreading mental health awareness and making health resources accessible to all, MindOC and Be Well Orange County, in alliance with the county, began implementing the distribution of prevention resources and campaigns for public-service announcements regarding teen suicide.
Furthermore, the suicide-prevention program built work groups aimed at investigating such rising rates of suicide among adolescents. As the largest school in Orange County at the time, FVHS staff pushed to have representation in the matter.
“Before the [COVID-19] pandemic, there was already a pretty serious mental health crisis among teenagers…[as] I read this little article [that] said Orange County was going to allocate funds and time to investigate this problem,” school psychologist Cynthia Olaya said. “We have lots of nurses and psychologists, who are actually on the frontlines of this problem…I thought, why are they not asking us about this, the largest high school in the county [at the time]?”
Olaya brought up the issue to Huntington Beach Union High School District’s (HBUHSD) principal at the time, Dr. Dan Bryan. As discussion spread among administration at the district office, FVHS was finally able to have a voice in the matter of teen mental wellness.
“As a part of that partnership, Nurse Macy and I started attending these workgroup meetings, around not just teen mental health issues, but actually around mental health in the county for all ages,” Olaya said. “As a part of our work there, we were selected by Orange County Department of Education and CHOC to be the recipient of one of these WellSpaces.”
The larger goal of OCDE and CHOC is to normalize mental health and, more importantly, push overall for mental wellness.
“Part of [the schools’] message is that you don’t just go to a gym or to a therapist, and then that’s self-care. Self-care is at school, if you need five to 10 minutes to take a break and then you get back to what you need to do,” Olaya said. “There’s no doubt that when people come to the WellSpace, they’re going to come into contact with potential adult helpers [also]…and that will benefit kids because they’re going to potentially be in a much better position to get more serious hellp.”
The new WellSpace will be modeled after the current Zen Room in the Supervision Office.
In order to bring in student input, Olaya conducted focus groups that allowed students to voice what they would like to have in their new WellSpace. ‘Le Sanctuaire’ will have all the things students love in the Zen Room, such as coloring activities, comfortable seating and an iPad to visit mindfulness apps. Olaya plans to further add yoga mats for stretching and a space for mental health workshops in the future, while adding days for staff to visit for their own mental wellness.
Olaya is also considering one thing frequently brought up in student focus groups: a live animal.
“[The students] really wanted some kind of live animal,” Olaya said. “I would love to have dogs in there. I think Ms. Perkoski would really love to have jellyfish in there.”
However, Olaya disclosed that there will be safety concerns, so the idea of a live animal is still a work in progress. Yet, overall, the WellSpace will be centered around the idea of “eco-design,” which incorporates colors and materials similar to those found in nature, for a soothing and calming effect.
The construction for ‘Le Sanctuaire’ is set for this summer. Students can expect to find the WellSpace nestled next to the school library, which was previously a copy room.
“[Space was] the tough part. At Fountain Valley High School, we do not have a ton of space,” Olaya said. “At this time, there’s a copy room that the teachers use adjacent to the library and then the 100’s halls. Those copy machines are going to be relocated to the faculty dining room, which is adjacent to the cafeteria. Mr. Lopez worked with maintenance to make sure that there’s going to be ample space.”
The plans of construction include adding a few crucial pieces to enhance the space, but overall will not be a physically strenuous project. Though there is no firm timeline yet, the hope is that the WellSpace will have its grand opening in time for the upcoming school year.
“The most important thing [about the WellSpace], to me, is just normalizing the need to have a break in your day…Teachers and students, their lives are dictated by the bell. And I think sometimes we go on autopilot, which is the exact opposite of being mindful,” Olaya said. “Hopefully, with the space, what we’re going to do is send a message that it’s normal, natural and necessary to need a little timeout in your day in order to continue to do the things that you need or want to do.”
