Guidance and Support for Students and Parents
August 15, 2023
Mrs. Sydney Perez is one of our social workers for Wesclin, she works with the Middle School students, she has been a part of this school district since 2021. Previous to her employment with Wesclin, she worked in community based jobs providing support and therapeutic services to homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth, as well as, youth placed in a residential hospitalization setting. She holds a Master's Degree from McKendree University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is trained in AF-CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and is trauma-informed. She enjoys working with adolescents and teens to help them navigate life and problems that may arise.
Mrs. Katie Wilke is our elementary school social worker. She works at New Baden Elementary and Trenton Elementary. She has been employed with Wesclin School District since 2019, and graduated with a master's degree in school social work from SIUC in 2016. Katie works with all students in grades Prek-3 by teaching social emotional lessons in classrooms weekly, and is available to work with students individually or in small groups to help with specific concerns when needed. Katie loves to collaborate with parents and teachers to find ways to help and support students.
School Social Workers:
- Provide individual and group counseling for all students.
- Address topics such as depression, self-harm, anxiety and stress, grief, anger management, drugs and alcohol, family conflict, divorce, peer-related issues, social skills, and behavioral issues.
- Provide crisis prevention and intervention.
- Actively participate in Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Child Review Team (CRT) meetings.
- Consult and collaborate with faculty and administrators regarding students.
- Connect students and parents to outside community resources.
- Participate in policy development pertaining to attendance and discipline
SEXUAL ASSAULT
Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault
National Sexual Assault Hotline
- 800-656-4673 (Available 24/7)
- Live Chat available
- rainn.org
Ride Sharing Safety/Sexual Assault Awareness - a comprehensive guide about sexual assault in ride sharing services, how to stay safe and options in case it happens.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- 877-863-6338 (Available 24/7)
National Domestic Violence Hotline
- 800-799-7233 (Available 24/7)
- https://www.thehotline.org/
CHILD ABUSE
Illinois Child Abuse Hotline
- 800-252-2873 (Available 24/7)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
- 800-662-4357 (Available 24/7)
- www.samhsa.gov
Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substance Abuse
- 833-2FINDHELP (Available 24/7)
- Text "HELP" to 833234
- https://helplineil.org/app/
home
ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL ABUSE
Alcohol Abuse Prevention
Community Outreach Information
-
AlcoholRehabGuide.org, which is an organization dedicated to providing extensive and reliable information on the various aspects of alcohol abuse and addiction.
MENTAL HEALTH
Crisis and Referral Entry Services (CARES)
- 800-345-9049 (Available 24/7)
- Mental health crisis calls for Illinois children and youth
Illinois Call4Calm Text Line
- Text TALK to 552020 for English or HABLAR for Spanish (Available 24/7)
- Stress-related to COVID-19 pandemic and need emotional support
- Anonymous
Crisis Text Line
- Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a Crisis Counselor
- 24/7 support to anyone in any type of crisis
- https://www.crisistextline.org
Disaster Distress Helpline
- 800-985-5990 (Available 24/7)
- Text: TalkWithUs to 66746
- Support for emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters
- Disaster Distress Helpline
Other
National Runaway Safeline
- 800-786-2929 or TEXT 66008 (Available 24/7)
Trevor Project Hotline (LGBTQ+)
- 866-488-7386 (Available 24/7)
- Text START to 678678
Trans Lifeline's Peer Support Hotline
877-565-8860