Behavioral Health and Schools

Small Center Engagement

In Spring 2016, Small Center staff conducted a Public Interest Design Seminar for architecture graduate students. Through mapping, students explored the spatial relationships among schools, youth programming, and city-wide transit systems. The studies revealed various issues related to New Orleans’ post-Katrina school system, including a lack of reliable transportation and limited access to health services and recreation opportunities.

Building upon the seminar-based work, two 2016 Summer Public Interest Design Fellows worked with the Recovery School District to map schools alongside behavioral health service locations, assessing gaps in order to suggest future placement of services and needed policy changes, and outlined the difficulties of accessing behavioral health services.

Partner Organization

Established in 2003, the Recovery School District is a special school district run by the Louisiana Department of Education that intervenes in the management of chronically low-performing schools. The Recovery School District has 80 schools, including direct-run schools and charter schools, and has agreements with school districts for managing schools that are eligible to be moved into the Recovery School District.

Outcome

The project team created a booklet of maps and analysis showing the proximity of clinics to schools, types of treatment offered and insurance accepted, and what languages clinic staff speak. The document is being used to advocate for equitable distribution of services through a more centralized behavioral health system for New Orleans public school students. To view the final booklet, please click here.

Collaborators

Recovery School District

• Alvin David