STOP the threat: A schools' mission for mental health promotion

Since 2013, the state of Texas has experienced the highest number of incidents related to gun violence on school campuses of any state (Every Town for Gun Safety, 2020). To address this concern, schools are augmenting their mental health programs, and in the 2018–2019 school year, the state education agencies and independent school districts in Texas were eligible to apply for the Department of Justice Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence grant. Through a descriptive case study design, this study examined the perception of a single school counselor who works at a school that received a STOP School Violence grant on promoting mental health programs’ role in reducing school violence. The findings indicated there are several strategies school districts can implement to reduce school violence threats.