Strengthening Behavioral Health Recovery in North Carolina Schools

Impact

• Delivered trauma-responsive training, healing circles, and practical tools to 22 educators and school staff representing 17 organizations across Western North Carolina.

• Achieved strong participant outcomes, with 100% rating the forum helpful or very helpful and 95% reporting high confidence in supporting behavioral health needs.

• Generated more than 110 practical strategies and shared resource materials to strengthen school-based behavioral health recovery and resilience.

Background

Following Tropical Storm Helene, educators and school staff across Western North Carolina faced ongoing behavioral health challenges, including disaster-related stress, compassion fatigue, and strained support systems. State and federal partners identified a need for practical, school-based tools to help educators support students, strengthen staff well-being, and rebuild connections across schools and communities. In response, ASPR and its partners convened a regional forum focused on behavioral health recovery in educational settings.

Recovery

ASPR, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education and other partners, delivered a full-day Behavioral Health Education Forum that combined skill-building, peer connection, and action planning to support school recovery.

• Facilitators used a GONA-informed framework to guide sessions on stress responses, grounding, co-regulation, healing circles, and trauma-responsive strategies for educators and students.

• Participants mapped school support ecosystems, shared peer practices, and developed more than 110 actionable strategies to strengthen educator wellness, classroom environments, staff culture, and support networks.

• ASPR provided a resource booklet and facilitator guide so participants could carry practical tools back to their schools and extend the forum’s impact beyond the event itself.