He announced Camp LEAD as a tool to improve kids’ mental health.
San Diego Supervisor Jim Desmond recently announced he is spearheading an effort to expand Camp LEAD, an innovative idea to help make schools safer to protect children.
To start, the sheriff’s department will be coming into schools and doing assessments on classrooms in order to improve school safety.
“The second part is how can we help our kids,” he said, specifically mentioning Camp LEAD, a three-day high school leadership program.
“What we’ve seen is the shooters in these cases are loners, they’ve been bullied. There’s some sort of mental health issue when they were young. So how can we help kids in high school get over those obstacles – that anxiety people have, and help them feel more connected?”
Camp LEAD will help students feel more connected to their peers and school, helping to reduce those feelings of isolation, and it has already had successful results in the past.
Desmond also mentioned how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was more isolation for kids than ever before, increasing mental health problems. “Camp LEAD brings kids together and gives them the confidence to be more connected.”
He summarized the camp in a tweet: “That past two years has caused more and more kids to become isolated. It’s imperative that we provide resources and address the root cause of the violence in our country. I’m a firm believer in Camp LEAD being the solution!”
