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Myah Orlowski, bottom row, second from left, addresses state and school officials for support funding mental health initiatives for North Fork students. (Source: Longwood Legislative Breakfast/Zoom)
The tragic death of 16-year-old Ryan Oliver, a sophomore at Mattituck High School, has reinforced the need for school districts to pay close attention to the mental health needs of students, particularly now with COVID-19 forcing so much change and continued hardship on families and young people.
That need was emphasized at a recent Mattituck-Cutchogue school district meeting, where administrators pleaded for state funding to be restored to the very critical North Fork Coalition for Behavioral Health, a consortium of local hospitals, elected officials and the Family Service League that worked to improve students’ access to mental health services on the East End.