Provide Free Mental Health Education Programs to School Communities

Grant Information
Categories	Education , Healthcare
Location	United States
Cycle Year	2023

Organization Information
Organization Name (provided by applicant)	Erikas Lighthouse A Beacon of Hope for Adolescent Depression
Organization Name (provided by automatic EIN validation)
EIN	20-1069100
Website	www.erikaslighthouse.org

Contact Information
Contact Name	Ms. Meade Means
Phone	8473866481
E-mail	meade@erikaslighthouse.org
Address	PO Box 616 Winnetka IL 60093

Additional Information
Used for	We are a not-for-profit dedicated to educating and raising awareness about adolescent depression, encouraging good mental health and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health issues. We provide school communities with mental health education programming that engages students, educators and families to create a positive school culture around mental health. All our high-quality programs are funded by donors, so cost is not a barrier for schools. A grant from the Dudley Dougherty Foundation will help us bring mental health education to even more students nationwide.
Benefits	School communities can help ensure every child has the knowledge and resources to lead mentally healthy lives. Rather than focus on adolescents in crisis, our programs go upstream to create inclusive school cultures around mental health. Our school-based, tier 1 programs are centered on the student, and their surrounding support network, to empower them to take control of their mental health. Our programs engage the entire school community and promote a culture that supports students' mental health.
Proposal Description	We work with school communities to create positive culture change around mental health. This work is achieved through four pillars: Classroom Education, Empowerment Clubs, Family Engagement, and School Policy & Staff Development. Our programs are Tier-1 programs and impact every student in the school to promote help-seeking and normalize conversations around mental health issues. Our Classroom Programs are skills-based, evidence-informed programs that introduce mental health and depression literacy, focusing on good mental health and help-seeking. Empowerment Clubs allow students to take a leadership role in their schools to create a culture of good mental health. And our School Policy & Staff Development and Family Engagement programs use webinars and supporting material to ensure everyone in the school community has the knowledge to support students. By engaging the entire school community, we strive to help schools create a culture of good mental health at all levels. Our programs reach students in grades 4-12 and the educators and families that support them. In the 2022-23 school year, our programs impacted over 534,000 students across the nation. The students we reached were 35% Hispanic, 18% Black, 12% Asian or other, and 55.8% were eligible for free or reduced lunch. 63% of the schools we partnered with were Title 1 schools. We expect students receiving our program to have a better understanding of mental health and to feel more comfortable talking about mental health and seeking help for themselves or a friend. In the 2021-22 school year, we implemented an online pre- and post-program survey for students receiving our classroom program. Over two years, the data has remained consistent, and last school year, based on 4,100 survey responses, we learned that: -85% demonstrated an increase in knowledge around mental health and depression -96% were able to identify a trusted adult -84% reported being comfortable speaking with a trusted adult about their mental health -87% would speak to an adult if their friend was talking about suicide or self-harm These results show how our programs help promote good mental health, encourage help-seeking, and reduce stigma in school communities. As schools recognize the need for mental health education in their communities, more and more are turning to Erika's Lighthouse. All of our programs are provided to schools free of charge, so that cost is never a barrier. A grant from the foundation would be put to immediate use to bring our programs to even more schools.