Mental Health and Well-being Team (Est. November 2022)

Our team's primary focus is on addressing and improving Youth Mental Health. The team is driving forward with two exciting initiatives. You can find detailed information on both initiatives below.

Progress to Date…..

Initiative #1

Youth Wellness Pod

Overall goal: The pod's primary objective is to enhance access to youth mental health services.

One of the most significant obstacles preventing the provision of youth mental health services in schools is the absence of private, confidential spaces. Many youth were not able to get the help they needed. To overcome this obstacle, the team purchased a conversation suite which we call a “Youth Wellness Pod” for a total of $22,000. The pod provides the following features and benefits:

  1. Sound proof (but can still hear fire alarms)

  2. Active ventilation with built in air flow

  3. Capacity for one on one sessions and telehealth services for students

  4. Modified to ensure student safety

  5. Ultra-efficient

“Ah, it’s so quiet in here”

“These chairs are so comfy”

“I can close my eyes and breathe”

Student Quotes about the Pod thus far:

More to come! Furniture, storage, decals, lighting and more have been ordered and are on their way! We plan to have students participate in the decoration of the Pod to make it an inviting wellness space. Keep an eye out for updated pictures and info!

Initiative #2

Amplify the “ENGAGE” online platform which empowers meaningful connections between teachers and students

CACH Objectives:

We are working together with the Champlain Valley School District to:

1) improve their existing ENGAGE platform

2) adapt the platform and survey to serve students in grades K-4

We also plan to:

  • Make the platform, survey tool, infrastructure development and training available to more school districts.

  • Support the adoption and implementation of Engage for those schools who choose to use the platform.

Overview of Engage:

  • The survey instruments used to engage with students are based on measuring and growing protective factors in youth. They focus on connection with adults and school administration, supportive peer groups, engagement in extracurricular and volunteer activities and more.

  • Engage provides a safe, thoughtful, and constructive space for students to honestly share their experiences and perspectives. The platform supports schools in creating a more dynamic culture of learning by highlighting the positives and the potential areas of concern for its learners and systems.

  • Engage provides schools with significant, manageable, identifiable information about students in real time, derived from a proven, efficient survey, among other sources.

  • The aspiration of Engage is to empower schools to use effortlessly gathered and rich information about each and every one of their students to improve connections and, in turn, communities.