The Renton Student Health Hub connects students to mental health and behavioral services thanks to funding by the city of Renton.
At the 2025 Renton State of the City address, Mayor Armondo Pavone highlighted the health hub and said it helps enhance youth access to critical health services.
“By funding the Renton Student Health Hub, a partnership with the Renton School District and the Health Commons Project, we can ensure students receive the support they need to thrive, both in and out of the classroom,” Pavone said.
The city of Renton approved a contract with Health Commons Project to fund the Renton Student Health Hub on Nov. 25, 2024, for a total not to exceed $3,129,000 through 2026 using HB 1590 funds.
After being screened by school district staff, students and families needing behavioral health assistance are connected to health providers while maintaining confidential information. The hub also keeps school district staff informed when students are served.
Pavone said the hub offers easy and quick access to behavioral health and mental health services by utilizing technology to connect students to the appropriate resources when they need them most by linking schools, healthcare providers, and human service agencies
“This is a smart long-term investment,” Pavone said. “By addressing the health needs of our young people early on, we can reduce the need for expensive emergency intervention in the future.”
The funding goes toward Health Commons Project’s development and operation of the hub, the salaries and benefits for 2.5 FTE social worker/ case manager positions to support students and assist them in using the hub and grants to local service providers to participate in the hub.
In a video presentation, Renton School District superintendent Damien Pattenaude said the student health hub is a strategy to remove barriers students and families encounter when seeking out behavior and mental health support.
“The big thing for us is that we don’t believe anyone’s access to these resources and support should be dependent on who they know, whether that’s who the student knows, who the family knows or who the school counselor knows,” Pattenaude said.
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