Margarets place; your safe space at samo
Mental health is our emotional, social and mental wellbeing. Having good mental health is extremely important especially in school, as it can affect how we feel, think, act and even handle stress. To help students manage the stress of school throughout the day are the Margaret’s Place workers at Samo.
Margaret’s Place is a safe space for students located in Samo’s English building in room E117. Their mission is to help end the cycle of violence in our schools and relationships within the community. This program is a part of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation and is spread across multiple locations including Los Angeles County and New York City. Being a therapist at Margaret’s Place means working with students in many different ways.
Margaret's Place Therapist Lara DeSanto provides free therapy to students who have been exposed to violence, trauma or unhealthy relationships. DeSanto also hosts events such as open lunch, where students can participate in stress-relieving activities or workshops about unhealthy relationships and how to deal with them. Margaret's Place also has a peer leadership club for students who want to get involved with spreading awareness about these topics.
Being able to work at Margaret’s Place means that DeSanto gets to associate with different students and hear their stories, specifically the students who are a part of the peer leadership club, which she especially enjoys connecting with.
“I enjoy watching them become activists and spread the message that we are trying to spread,” DeSanto said.
Sia Kresch//The Samohi
Mental health is our emotional, social and mental wellbeing. Having good mental health is extremely important especially in school, as it can affect how we feel, think, act and even handle stress. To help students manage the stress of school throughout the day are the Margaret’s Place workers at Samo.
Peer leadership students focus on spreading the overall main message of Margaret’s Place— that the cycle of violence in our communities needs to end— but they also spread the core values of the foundation. These core values are a fundamental part of Margaret’s Place. They include the fact that violence is never ok and that you’re not alone if you’ve experienced violence or unhealthy relationships. They also believe that you should speak up when you’re ready and that what has happened to you is never your fault. DeSanto’s favorite part about being a therapist is being able to help these students, as she believes it is extremely important during this time in their lives. “I wanted to become a therapist so I could help people cope with their mental health," DeSanto said. "I especially like working with teenagers since I believe that being an adolescent is such an important part of your life, and I wanted to be a support during that time."
