When discussing why the Allegheny County Heath Department (ACHD) chose the AIU to facilitate Project SEEKS SES, ACHD acting director Patrick Dowd said the choice was simple.

“We had to find a partner that could do a bunch of things at the same time," Dowd said. "That was how we landed on the Allegheny Intermediate Unit."  

On April 4th, that dynamic ability was on display, as the AIU held its first Project SEEKS SES stakeholder meeting. All told, roughly 80 school district, higher education and community partners gathered for the four-hour event. While these partners might collaborate on occasion, getting them all together in the same room is something that seldom — if ever — happens.    

During the meeting, the partners collaborated and discussed the best ways to address adolescent social and emotional health, as well as how they can work together to build a pipeline of professionals for school social work, psychology and counseling fields.  

“We needed to do something to support the mental health of our students, particularly those heavily impacted by the pandemic," said AIU executive director Robert Scherrer.  

For some scenes of the event check out the video here, or the slideshow above.