Mental health for youth is still an acute issue for many communities in the United States, and a donation by The Cigna Group Foundation intends to improve community response to mental health challenges for youth over the next three years. The foundation has opened a granting cycle for its Improving Youth Mental Health initiative where it will donate up to $9 million across three years to support organizations that provide youth mental health services in ten priority states (Arizona, Florida, New Jersey, and Texas, for example).
This initiative will focus entirely on youth mental health services delivered in real world locations (i.e., schools, after school programs, and community-based organizations that are aware of local challenges). Grantees will be required to demonstrate the use of social/emotional learning methodology; the use of trauma-informed care; and family/school partnerships to integrate youth mental health support into daily life rather than as an emergency or additive service. “Today, more young Americans than ever before are experiencing challenges with their mental health. This is a critical moment in American history that requires urgency and compassion,” said Ellie Polack, President of the Foundation.
Family hopes that they will be able to access youth mental health supports more easily and that they will be culturally relevant. Many community leaders have identified that there are fragmented systems to navigate and many parents have a difficult time with the extremely long wait periods to access clinicians. By investing these grants into local trusted entities, the hope is to make mental health supports more accessible to youth through various avenues — whether it be through accessing a counselor in their school hall or a mentor in a youth centre, or to a coach who is trained to support youth in their emotional development.
Advocates have indicated that youth mental health is tied to academic success, safety and long-term physical health. They believe, that by investing now into the mental health of youth, it will prevent youth from becoming a crisis later on, by reducing the use of hospitals, reducing youth involved in the justice system and reducing the number of youth dropping out of school. Although the Cigna initiative cannot close every gap in mental health services, it demonstrates that the youth mental health is a shared responsibility between health systems, philanthropic efforts and communities.
Source: PR Newswire – The Cigna Group Foundation Youth Mental Health Grant Program
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