Google and Selena Gomez partner to fund teen mental health in the classroom

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Google and Selena Gomez partner to fund teen mental health in the classroom

2024-08-13 04:51 Last Updated At：05:01

The unprecedented mental health crisis for children in the United States often surfaces where they spend much of their days: school. With that in mind, Google’s philanthropic arm is directly financing high school wellbeing projects on a classroom crowdfunding platform.

Google.org on Monday flash funded all mental health-related listings on DonorsChoose, an online charity where members help purchase supplies requested by public school teachers. With $10 million in new gifts and the help of actress Selena Gomez, the Silicon Valley giant hopes to center mindfulness as an educational goal at the start of the academic calendar.

Districts have turned to teachers for psychological help after the coronavirus pandemic brought alarming levels of childhood depression, anxiety and fights. But experts say that increased attention has not translated to more philanthropic money overall toward mental health.

Google.org committed earlier this year to back nonprofits that support kids’ mental health and online safety. Monday’s announcement — which will also provide $500 vouchers for eligible DonorsChoose campaigns in the near future — ups that pledge to $25 million.

The move comes amid widespread criticism and lawsuits claiming Google-owned YouTube and other social media sites have fueled the childhood mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive features.

Justin Steele, Google.org’s Director for the America, said its initiative highlights Google’s efforts to lead this “important conversation” and “be one part of contributing to positive solutions.”

Its internet browser’s own data has showcased the rising interest; Steele said searches for “teen mental health” doubled over the last four years.

“Obviously, we want people to be able to take advantage of all the amazing things technology has to offer,” Steele said. “But we also want them to be able to do it in a healthy and safe way.”

Google.org is giving $6 million overall to DonorsChoose. The technology company also announced $1.5 million in donations to the Jed Foundation, the Steve Fund and Child Mind Institute — groups focused on emotional wellbeing among young adults, people of color and children, respectively. The organizations will design half-hour training sessions to help educators navigate new mental health challenges. Teachers can earn $200 DonorsChoose credits upon course completion.

Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund, which seeks to drive more money into this “underfunded field,” is receiving $1.25 million.

The “Only Murders in the Building” star has been vocal about her own bipolar diagnosis. In a Monday blog post, Gomez said she knows firsthand that “caring adults” can make a big difference for teenagers.

“As young people find their way through the world, it’s crucial that they get guidance in building healthy, positive and productive mental health habits,” Gomez wrote. “Few people are in a better position to help do this than teachers.”

The need to address behavioral issues in high school was further emphasized by a recent report from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Students said they faced bullying and missed school due to safety concerns at higher rates than previous years in data released August 6.

Yes, Mindful Philanthropy Executive Director Alyson Niemann acknowledged, the greater focus on mental health has brought minimal funding boosts for nonprofits in this space. But she said the dollars don’t match the new levels of awareness.

One major barrier is that donors don’t know which solutions work, according to Niemann. School-based mental health support is one of the most effective remedies, she said. That’s where many students begin the path to treatment and find trusted adults in teachers or coaches.

DonorsChoose CEO Alix Guerrier emphasized that teachers are not substitutes for mental health professionals. But he said DonorsChoose has seen a fourfold increase over the past four years in the number of mental health submissions. Such requests include saucer chairs for a “calm corner” and meditative stuffed animals that guide deep breathing.

“There is no limit to teachers’ creativities," Guerrier said.

Mental health has long been a priority for Aileen Gendrano Adao in her Los Angeles classrooms. The high school English teacher said she asks students to ground themselves with three deep breaths at the start of class. Wall posters affirm students’ self-worth.

She said DonorsChoose gives her the freedom to creatively engage with students — especially when districts lack the money to meet needs that emerge in real time. As Asian Americans faced racially motivated attacks during the pandemic, she obtained graphic novels about Asian American identity.

She hopes this additional funding encourages educators to prioritize mental health.

“Schools are transforming in a way that’s needed and necessary to heal from post-pandemic chaos,” she said. “There’s an investment. People are seeing us and wanting us to be better and whole again.

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

South and Midwest face potentially catastrophic rains and floods while reeling from tornadoes

2025-04-05 00:00 Last Updated At：00:10

LAKE CITY, Ark. (AP) — Parts of the Midwest and South faced the possibility of torrential rains and life-threatening flash floods Friday, while many communities were still reeling from tornadoes that destroyed whole neighborhoods and killed at least seven people.

Forecasters warned of potentially catastrophic weather, with round after round of heavy rains expected in the central U.S. through Saturday. Satellite imagery showed thunderstorms lined up like freight trains to take the same tracks over communities in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the national Weather Prediction Center in Maryland.

The downpours inundated highways Friday morning in Kentucky, causing numerous road closures, and submerging downtown Hopkinsville, where water rescues were under way. A mudslide on a busy highway on the outskirts of Louisville caused a long traffic backup as crews worked to clear the road.

“The main arteries through Hopkinsville are probably 2 feet under water,” said Christian County Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam. “So the mayor has closed downtown down for all traffic. Our office is actually in the middle of it and we were here before the water rose. So there’s only one way we could get out.”

Gov. Andy Beshear implored residents to take the threat of rising water seriously.

“Especially when we have this much rain, it’s the decisions about when to get out, about what to drive through, when to go stay with someone else that can be the difference between life and death,” Beshear said Thursday.

The National Weather Service’s Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center warned of a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms Friday along a corridor from northeast Texas through Arkansas and into southeast Missouri. That area, which has a population of about 2.3 million, could see clusters of severe thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening, with the potential for some storms to produce strong to intense tornadoes and very large hail.

Those killed in the initial wave of storms that spawned powerful tornadoes on Wednesday and early Thursday were in Tennessee, Missouri and Indiana. They included a Tennessee man and his teen daughter whose home was destroyed, and a man whose pickup struck downed power lines in Indiana. In Missouri, Garry Moore, who was chief of the Whitewater Fire Protection District, died while likely trying to help a stranded motorist, according to Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Clark Parrott.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said entire neighborhoods in the hard-hit town of Selmer were “completely wiped out” and said it was too early to know whether there were more deaths as searches continued. He warned people across the state to stay vigilant with more severe weather predicted.

With flattened homes behind him, Dakota Woods described seeing the twister come through Selmer.

“I was walking down the street,” Woods said Thursday. “Next thing you know, I look up, the sky is getting black and blacker, and it’s lighting up green lights, and it’s making a formation of a twister or tornado.”

By late Thursday, extremely heavy rain was falling in parts of southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky.

Heavy rains were expected to continue there and in other parts of the region in the coming days and could produce dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping away cars. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” each day, the National Weather Service said.

Five to 8 inches of rain (12.7 centimeters to 20 centimeters) had fallen by Thursday morning in Hopkinsville, causing the Little River to surge over its banks and flood downtown.

A pet boarding business was under water, forcing rescuers to move dozens of dogs to a local animal shelter, said Gilliam, the county executive. On Friday morning, crews had already rescued people from four or five vehicles and multiple homes, mostly by boat to evacuate people, said Randy Graham, the emergency management director in Christian County.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen downtown,” Gilliam said.

Rain totals approached nearly 9 inches elsewhere in Christian County, the weather service said. Another 4 to 8 inches of rain could fall later Friday and Saturday.

Kentucky’s road conditions website showed scores of state roads closed by high water on Friday morning. A landslide closed a nearly 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) stretch of Mary Ingles Highway in northern Kentucky early Friday, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. A landslide closed the same section of road in 2019 and it reopened last year, WLWT-TV reports. The Transportation Cabinet’s District 3 in southern Kentucky warned Friday morning that road conditions can change rapidly, and with more rain coming, more roads were expected to flood in the coming hours and days.

Water rescue teams and sandbagging operations were being staged across the region, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready to distribute food, water, cots and generators.

Western Kentucky prepared for record rain and flooding in places that normally do not get inundated, the governor said. At least 25 state highways were swamped, mostly in the west, according to a statement from his office Thursday.

Flash flooding is particularly worrisome in rural Kentucky where water can rush off the mountains into the hollows. Less than four years ago, dozens died in flooding across eastern Kentucky.

Extreme flooding across the corridor that includes Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, which have major cargo hubs, could also lead to shipping and supply chain delays, said Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

Homes were ripped to their foundations in Selmer, Tennessee, which was hit by a tornado with winds estimated up to 160 mph (257 kph), according to the weather service.

Tennessee Highway Patrol video showed lightning illuminating the sky as first responders scoured the ruins of a home, looking for anyone trapped.

In neighboring Arkansas, a tornado near Blytheville lofted debris at least 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers) high, according to weather service meteorologist Chelly Amin. The state’s emergency management office reported damage in 22 counties from tornadoes, wind, hail and flash flooding.

The home where Danny Qualls spent his childhood but no longer lives was flattened by a tornado in northeast Arkansas.

“My husband has been extremely tearful and emotional, but he also knows that we have to do the work,” Rhonda Qualls said. “He was in shock last night, cried himself to sleep.”

Workers on bulldozers cleared rubble along the highway that crosses through Lake City, where a tornado with winds of 150 mph (241 kph) sheared roofs off homes, collapsed brick walls and tossed cars into trees.

Mississippi's governor said at least 60 homes were damaged. And in far western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, according to the emergency management office in Ballard County.

Walker IV reported from Selmer, Tennessee, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Seth Borenstein in Washington; Isabella O'Malley in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.