A $7.5 million federal grant will pay $1.5 million a year for five years to expand student mental health care in New Hanover County Schools.

New Hanover County Schools and the Wilmington nonprofit Coastal Horizons will spend $7.5 million over five years to expand mental health support for students.

The money is a federal Project AWARE grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It was awarded to Coastal Horizons and pays $1.5 million a year, the school district announced Oct. 13.

What the grant pays for

Project AWARE stands for Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education. Coastal Horizons will lead the work with the district. According to the district’s announcement, it will focus on:

  • prevention and early intervention
  • spotting students’ needs earlier
  • access to behavioral health services, including for substance use
  • crisis response
  • closer links among students, families, schools and community providers

“Supporting the mental health and well-being of our students is essential to helping them succeed in the classroom and in life,” Deputy Superintendent Julie Varnam said in the announcement.

“No student should have to face a mental health challenge alone, and no family should have to navigate the search for help without support,” said Margaret Weller-Stargell, president and CEO of Coastal Horizons.

Who is running it

Coastal Horizons is a nonprofit that provides behavioral health care, crisis services, substance use treatment and other programs. It serves more than 25,000 people a year across 70 North Carolina counties, the announcement says.

The grant is separate from another $7.5 million, five-year Project AWARE award the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction received for three other school districts from 2026 through 2031.

What we do not know yet

The announcement does not say which schools will get new services first, how many counselors or clinicians the money will hire, or when the work starts. We will update this story when the district publishes those details.

What it means for you

  • If your child needs mental health support now, start with the school counselor. Our schools page lists every school in the district.
  • For a crisis at any hour, call or text 988, the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
  • Over the next five years, families should see more school-based help and clearer routes to outside care, paid for by this grant.