DENVER  Mental health professionals within Denver Public Schools say theyre seeing more students in crisis and at younger ages than ever before.Because of this, Denver Health is expanding its school-based health centers within the district to meet the growing need. Our school social workers and school psychologists are mental health providers in our schools. They are overwhelmed, said Meredith Fatseas, DPS director of mental health student well-being.From anxiety and depression to behavioral outbursts and school avoidance, mental health needs among DPS students are rising.More recently, we have really seen an increase in the need across all of our student population, but also the severity and acuity, particularly for our younger kids, said Fatseas.DPS says the increase is not just the number of students seeking help, but in how serious their needs have become.We universally screen all of our students for behavioral and social-emotional needs, and we've seen an increase not only in need, but also in severity or acuity of need, said Fatseas.In 19 schools across the district, Denver Health operates school-based health centers that provide both physical and behavioral healthcare to students. Currently, we're serving students who are the most acute and have the most chronic mental health issues, said Danielle Vice, Denver Health director of school-based integrated behavioral health services. We're really looking at shifting our model a little bit so that we're going to have a tiered level of care.That new tiered model will expand services, meeting students before they experience a crisis, while still serving those who need it most.Our expansion will look like providing more care in our clinics to students with mild behavioral health issues, all the way up through students who may need more of that crisis care, said Vice.Denver Health says last year its Therapeutic Response and Urgent Stabilization Team saw more than 500 visits, with referrals for kids as young as 7, a dramatic increase.The reason is multi-factorial. Its really hard to say exactly what the cause would be. We know social media plays a part in that. We know there are academic pressures as well, said Vice.DPS says offering care inside of schools removes barriers, and the numbers show.Almost 90% of students receiving treatment see an improvement in attendance, but we also see safety needs decrease and other behavioral health support changes that are positive for our young people, said Fatseas.Any DPS student can access the school-based health centers for free, even if its not at the school they currently attend.Denver Public Schools and Denver Health say they are currently in the planning phase of adding another school-based health center, with the hopes of opening it for the 2027-2028 school year. 'They are overwhelmed:' Denver Health expands school-based centers as student mental health needs rise ...read more read less