Empowering Educators - Mrs. Leah Suarez

Meet Mrs. Leah Suarez - Children's Mental Health System of Care Site Coordinator for the Okeechobee County School Board, and founder of Our Village Okeechobee

Wednesday, October 10 was Mental Health Awareness Day. Earlier this week, Mrs. Leah Suarez solicited assistance from school leaders in Okeechobee to help her spread the word, and ask everyone at their schools to wear green in support of this cause. Many schools and individuals shared their green photos on social media, tagged with a #okeesoc, #notalone, and #worldmentalhealthday.

"This is a tradition that we stared here in Okeechobee", Mrs. Suarez said. She stated that it is really cool to see how this initiative has taken off, and spread to other communities as well.

The passion that Mrs. Suarez has for bringing awareness to mental health related issues is not a coincidence. It stems from her personal life experiences as well as from the jobs that she has held since graduating from college. Mrs. Suarez has worked with marginalized and under-served populations since 1990. Interestingly, it all started at a baseball field where connections with people led Mrs. Suarez to her initial work with children and families. Mrs. Suarez said that being bi-lingual was a factor that got her hired. She worked with the Department of  Children and Families and held various social positions that exposed her to issues with foster care, child support, revenue maximization, and more. Later on, Mrs. Suarez' rich background in support services led her to accept a position in Florida  Community Health Center building a health benefits coordinator program and later, developing medical case management systems. Her work in social services with marginalized populations and her experiences in case management have paved her way to the field of facilitating support services, including mental health related services, to those in need.

Mrs. Suarez shared that she did not set out to do work in this field. When obtaining her degree in Speech (Interpersonal Communications) through the University of Central Florida, she aspired to become a presidential speech writer. The reality, however, has turned out to be very different than that. With her mom battling cancer, uninsured, and passing before Mrs. Suarez' graduation from UCF, Mrs. Suarez's focus turned to helping others, and connecting them with resources that are needed to get through life.

Helping others has happened in may ways. "I have fostered", Mrs. Suarez said, "And I still do". She shared that her family takes in kids as they come - often with trauma. Over the years, Mrs. Suarez has provided a safe place to 30-40 children; anywhere from a a few days to years.

Work with children and youth eventually led Mrs. Suarez' to find her way to the school district. This is Mrs. Suarez' third year working with the school district - first as a classroom teacher at North Elementary School, followed by her current position as the Children's Mental Health System of Care Site Coordinator. Taking on this position had its challenges - leaving her students at NES, to start with. Even though the new job was a good match with what Mrs. Suarez' had done in past, leaving students, mid year, was not something that she was ready to do.

Teaching others, while having a rich experiences in social work, has it's challenges as you look at people from a different angle. "You cannot educate until you have built relationships with your students", she said. Mrs. Suarez has observed that many students come to our schools with trauma, and they are defeated. Their desire to learn and do well has to be cultivated. And because of that, Mrs. Suarez shared, educators have a special place in students' lives. "It is not always the content that we teach, but rather the life lessons". Even today, Mrs. Suarez has a special message to her students and other youth. "You are enough", she said. "You are worth so much more than you imagine. Find your grit, and go for it".

Outside her work with the school district, Mrs. Suarez spends her time helping people through Our Village Okeechobee - a community resource center that focuses on providing individuals and families in need assistance in getting back on their feet.  This organization is based on the idea of giving a hand up, not a hand out to those who seek assistance. Establishing Our Village is a dream that started back in 2015, and it has been the labor of love. Today, this organization provides health and educational services for those in need. "My goal is to fill the gaps; to level the playing field and bring on equity", Mrs. Suarez said. At Our Village, people are connected with community resources and donors to satisfy their needs and to match people with those that can help.

Our Village Back to School Expo Volunteers

Mrs. Suarez talked about the hundreds of home visits that she has done to reach out, and the eye opening experiences that she has had in the course of that work. She said that she is fortunate to know and understand where these families come from, as she has experienced difficulty and hard times herself. Mrs. Suarez talked about the searing memories of her own life, and her understanding and empathy for students who have it rough - having to go through hardship to even get to school. This has left Mrs. Suarez with a strong will to help. Much of this has become possible through her work with Our Village where she provides tutoring services, peer support groups, and skills groups for both youth and their families. There are Spanish classes, ladies groups, and more. Mrs. Suarez shared that they hosted a grad party, back to school expo (the event volunteer crew pictured above), and more is still to come.

Mrs. Suarez admitted that juggling these may responsibilities is a challenge; a challenge that she has been able to overcome by managing her time well. "There cannot be a minute that is wasted", she said. Three days a week, Mrs. Suarez leaves her day job and heads over to Our Village to provide tutoring services.  When asked, why, Mrs. Suarez simply said: "If you see Our Village, you will understand". It has become another home - a place and an experience that Mrs. Suarez is able to share with her family.

Dr. Tuuli Robinson
Educator and Lifelong Learner

(Photos provided by Mrs. Leah Suarez)