Date:8/14/2014 Contact Information: Organization Name: Minding Your Mind Contact Name: Trish Larsen, Executive Director 42 West Lancaster Ave 2 nd Floor Ardmore, PA 19003 emailtrish@mindingyourmind.org Phone: 610-642-3879 Website: www.mindingyourmind.org Year incorporated 2007 Has your nonprofit ever applied to the Community Foundation? Yes Has your nonprofit ever received funding from the Community Foundation No Field/s of Interest: Arts, Culture & Humanities _X Health Environment/Animal Welfare X_ Education Human Services Organization Information: Geographic Area Served (If not all of Chester County, specify primary Chester County regions served): All of Chester County Describe Population Served and Annual Number of People Served: Middle School and High School Students, their teachers, admintrators and parents Mission: The mission of Minding Your Mind is to reduce the stigma and destructive behaviors associated with mental health issues and to promote help seeking behavior in youth through education. Proposal Summary: Minding Your Minds In School Mental Health Education Programs are designed for students, caregivers, educators and school administrators. It is imperative to inform these key groups because fifty percent of all individuals who are diagnosed with a mental health issue show signs of the mental health disorder by the age of 14. A survey of 75,000 teens in PA found that many of them do not feel supported or protected by their schools, families and communities. Students report that they are not comfortable discussing thoughts and feelings with parents and teachers. Minding Your Mind s in school programs aim to normalize mental health issues and to create an environment within schools, communities and at home where youth feel comfortable openly discussing mental health issues. Annual Budget $623,000 3 # of Full-Time Equivalent Paid Staff _55 % of budget for program expense 12 _ # of Board Volunteers _25_% of budget for administrative expenses _ 25 # of Active Non-Board Volunteers _20_ % of budget for fundraising expenses _500 # of Volunteer Hours Top 3-5 funding sources: Annual Gala $320,000 Beneficial Bank $25,000 Musser Foundation $25,000 Snider Foundation $10,000 Annual Run $10,000
Amount Requested $5,000_for School Presentations in Chester County Summary: One in five teens will experience a mental health issue this year. Although treatment is available, students report that they do not feel comfortable discussing issues related to mental health. Our goal is to break the silence by providing free in-school mental health education programs and workshops aimed at adolescents, teens and young adults, their parents, teachers and school administrators. Minding Your Mind has grown to become the largest provider of free middle and high school mental health education programs in Pennsylvania, presenting in over 300 schools. Our presenters have also delivered keynote speeches at multiple county, state and nationwide Suicide Prevention and Youth Mental Health Educational Conferences. History: Minding Your Mind was founded in 2007 after the founders held the first free public mental health forum. Impressed with the size of the crowd and the effect that the program had n the community, they formed a speaker s bureau. Over the years, the programs were professionalized and the In School Mental Health Education Programs became the flagship program for the organization. Teacher and staff trainings were added in 2012. Through our in School Mental Health Education Programs we strive to achieve the following: Help students to recognize warning signs of mental illness in themselves and their friends To teach students that mental illnesses are disorders of the brain, many are common and treatable To bridge the gap between mental and physical illness Help students to learn the language and skills they need to have a conversation about mental health To reduce stigma by promoting awareness about the prevalence of mental health disorders and effectiveness of seeking help To create a supportive environment on campuses and in communities in which people can speak up and seek help for mental health To eliminate any shame and discrimination experienced by students due to a mental health diagnosis Learning Objectives for MYM Programs: Our goal is to create an environment in schools and surrounding communities where young people feel comfortable openly discussing mental health issues. Far too many of our youth experiencing mental health issues and their families suffer in silence in fear of being judged as somehow flawed or damaged. When given the opportunity to speak honestly about mental illness, students report feeling alone and often believe that no one else would understand them if they spoke about their emotional pain. Minding Your Mind s In School Mental Health Education programs are designed to break this silence and open the conversation. Our ultimate goal is encourage students who
need help to seek help. MYM s programs take place in middle and high schools as well as on college campus s, at countywide conferences and community events. Program for Students and Youth Speaker Program: Minding Your Mind s primary objective is to improve the lives of adolescents and young adults by providing education aimed at reducing the stigma and the destructive attitudes and behaviors associated with an often-avoided topic, mental illness. The World Health Organization as the third cause of disability worldwide has identified mood disorders. As the age of onset for these brain disorders is often during adolescence, it is important that factual information and open dialogue occur during the middle and high school years. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in this age group and the second cause of death in college students. Over 90% of completed suicides occur when the individual has been diagnosed with one or more psychiatric disorders. While serious, these illnesses are treatable. Our speakers, dynamic young adults who have struggled with mental health issues, visit schools and other organizations to share their stories and recovery. The presentations, which are free of charge to the school, occur during school assemblies, health classes and/or workshops. Issues that are addressed in these presentations range from mood disorders, anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, depression, suicide ideation and eating disorders, to addictive behavior and bullying. Our speakers have all received training to insure that their presentations are delivered in a professional and knowledgeable fashion. They are inspiring and provide the students with a better understanding of the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, emphasizing that they are treatable and that help is available. All speakers also earned certifications to facilitate the Just Talk About It suicide prevention school program. An interactive, Best Practice Registry, Suicide Prevention presentation that can be modified based on age group and grade level. The program can be offered for staff only as well. Topics covered include, what a crisis looks like, signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety, typical warning signs of suicide and how to get help for yourself or a friend. In June of 2014 Governor Corbett signed Act 71 into law. Some of the language in the mandate includes the following: Each School shall adopt a policy that will include Suicide Prevention-protocols for early intervention and referrals for students at risk for suicide. School Entities shall require each school grades 6-12 teaching, administrative, counseling, and/or nursing staff member to complete at least two hours of instruction in suicide awareness and prevention every two years. All new employees would need to complete training within one year of hire. The Department will maintain a list of approved courses, instructors and websites. Each school entity is encouraged to provide appropriate training to all non-teaching staff (custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, etc.) at least once every two years. Minding Your Mind s staff is certified to facilitate two Best Practice Registry programs that meet the state mandate requirement. They are as follows: Programs for Teachers, Administrators, Staff and Parents Just Talk About It Suicide Prevention Toolkit is designed to train both adults and youth on how to assist adolescents who exhibit signs of suicidal ideation and has been approved by the Best Practices National Registry, Section III: Adherence to Standards which is mandated by House Bill 1386. The interactive presentation is designed to promote factual knowledge, promote discussion, ease communication and enlighten teachers, parents and students to the warning signs of mental health issues in adolescents and teens. At the completion of the training program, individuals are able to identify the following: What a crisis is, how stress affects a teenager, the symptoms of depression, the warning signs most often associated with suicide and ultimately, how to help a student and/or friend. After identifying an adolescent who is at risk for suicide, trained adults or students are able to approach and question the individual about their condition and persuade them to seek help. Following adolescent
acceptance to accept help, the trained individual is able to take the appropriate measures to refer the person for treatment and/or the appropriate trained adult, counselor or teacher. The primary goal of the awareness process is to increase the knowledge about suicide and depression while increasing the number of times a students self reports and engages in help seeking behavior. This program is most often presented during teacher in service days, at educational conferences and to Parent Teacher Organizations, however the program can be tailored to present to middle school through college level students. More Than Sad: Program for Teachers, Staff and Students Minding Your Mind presenters are trained to facilitate American Foundation of Suicide Preventions More Than Sad program. MYM coordinates presentations with AFSP staff throughout our service area. This program is also listed in the best practice registry and will fulfill the state mandate for suicide prevention education. The success of our programs is largely due to multiple state and countywide collaborations. Some of the most note worthy program partners are, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, NAMI, PBIA, PaTTON, Young People In Recovery, SADD, Red Ribbon Week, Need In Deed, City Year, State Wide Student Assistance Coordinators and county wide SAP counselors. MYM measures our rate of success by tracking the number of schools that request us to return the following year or ask for additional presentations, such as presenting to individual health classes after a general assembly. We also communicate with school officials at regular six-month intervals to measure the increase of students seeking advice from the school s counseling office. We look at the number of student s requests for help the year prior to our visit and then every 6 months after our presentation. While recording these numbers, we do control for time of year and age to avoid confounding data in our results. In addition to these measurements, schools opting to start in school clubs will provide feedback on their club outcomes through surveys that measure student mental health literacy, attitudes toward mental illness, help-seeking behaviors, and stigma on campus. We have also added a google voice text option for students to anonymously submit text message questions to the speaker after a presentation. This average number of questions submitted using this technology grew from 8 to 32 per presentation. MYM continues to use new and innovative ways to engage young people in open conversation around mental health issues. Programs in all regions have grown considerably over the last two years. Last year MYM experienced a 100% return request rate. The increase in request for our in school program speaks to the growing need and readiness for change. MYM has a well-developed fundraising and program execution plan in place. Programs will be sustained as we continue to pursue new and increased funding from grants, corporations, community groups and individual donors to support all community wide and in school programs. Please consider funding our programs in the amount of $5,000. Each individual program costs approximately $500 depending on size and scope.