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Our Process

We know that high levels of mental health struggles among young Idahoans have a huge impact on teachers, staff , and school leaders. While getting young people the care they need and preventing crises is hugely important, schools can also play a role in preventing youth mental health challenges before they can negatively impact young people’s health, well-being, and academic achievement. 


Of course, we know schools cannot and should not be expected to do this alone. Communities for Youth seeks to support school communities that want to play a role in upstream prevention for youth mental health in ways that work for them. To that end we offer a variety of partnership options that schools/districts can choose from to fit their unique needs and context.

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Moving to Data-Driven Prevention

A key part of “moving upstream” is increasing our understanding of the factors that contribute to or protect youth from mental health challenges. Also, because each community is different, it is always important to collect community-specific data that show a true picture of the youth experience.

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How much does it cost to work with Communities for Youth?

This varies widely. It depends on the types of resources and support that already exist in your community. For example, if your middle or high school is within the Idaho State Department of Education, then the survey design, administration, and summary report are FREE! If your school is located in a region currently supported by one of our partners, like St. Luke’s Hospital system, then the Upstream Prevention support may be covered too. If you/your community are interested in becoming a “Communities for Youth Initiative”region, then the best thing to do is to send us an email at communities4youth@gmail.com.

Building Community Awareness & Support

We get it, youth mental health can be a tough topic and many communities need to begin with community conversations and efforts to build shared understanding and buy-in.

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Full Community Engagement

Everyone has a role to play in building the best possible communities for our young people. Our full community engagement process empowers schools, parents, community partners, and other leaders to collectively address risk and protective factors for youth mental health in a given community.

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