Our History

Long before the pandemic, local education stakeholders had student mental health on their radar. In local surveys, Birmingham-area parents, students, teachers, and school leaders repeatedly identified the issue as a persistent barrier to student achievement. Since then, the unprecedented events of 2020 and 2021 dramatically intensified a pre-existing crisis -- particularly within low-income communities of color. The catastrophic public health impact of COVID, the socio-economic fallout from the pandemic, and the aftershocks of racial violence that devastated so many US communities also reverberated through our city.

The Birmingham Coalition for Student Mental Health (BCSMH) emerged as a response to this increasingly serious situation. Formed in the fall of 2020, BCSMH represents a diverse group of students, families, educators, community members, and organizations who joined together to reimagine what school-based mental health support could look like in our area.

At present, the coalition counts 20+ individuals and representatives from over 25 organizations among its active supporters.