SAN ANTONIO — Inside of St. Pius Catholic School, instead of talking about classes and studies, there is a new place where students can go to talk about personal issues.
“We knew that we needed to create a space where children could come and share some things if they had concerns or worries,” said St. Pius Catholic School Principal Jenny Kerr.
The room they call "Josh’s Room" was named after Joshua Velasco, a former St. Pius student who took his life in 2017.
“(In), the beginning of summer, Mrs. Kerr was able to get an empty classroom, and we said, 'Hey, this would be a good place to create that space for the kids,'” St. Pius Catholic School gym teacher Christina Velasco said.
Josh’s Room sits right next to the office of Mrs. Stephanie Hughes, the school’s counselor. It has a homey feel to it meant to make middle school students comfortable enough to talk to school personnel about issues they may be dealing with inside or outside of school, like anxiety or depression.
“In this particular time, a lot of those feelings are amplified because they’ve been away for such a long time and not (had) the space to discuss those feeling,” Hughes said.
This year is the first year the doors to Josh’s Room have been open, and with the pandemic Hughes says it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We were here, we opened on day one and they knew we were here on day one," she said. "So that we could be counted on and relied upon to support them in every possible way."