Pandemic relief funds are helping support youth and families' mental health

We continue to add examples to the American Rescue Plan map, illuminating how cities, states, and school districts use pandemic relief funds to support afterschool and summer learning. Today, we are focusing on mental health. Why?

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month!

In 2021, Surgeon General Murthy rang the alarm on the youth mental health crisis, a message that is just as relevant today. Last year, we learned how afterschool and summer programs support youth mental health. Earlier this year, we heard about the importance of mental health and wellbeing programs that are culturally driven. In honor, of National Mental Health Awareness Month, today we will highlight programs utilizing ARPA funds to ensure youth receive critical mental health supports whether through activities, referrals, or program provider training.

• St. Paul, Minnesota: In partnership with Youthprise and the Minnesota Department of Education, Ignite Afterschool is awarding $224,605 in ESSER III funds to the Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County's Youth & Family Program through the Believe & Build Afterschool Grant. The Youth & Family program will use grant funding to continue its services, including academic support and mentoring, career readiness, leadership skill development, and mental health referrals to a bilingual therapist for the area's fast-growing Hispanic population. Program partners include Red Wing Public Library, Red Wing Environmental Learning Center, Red Wing Community Education, CARE Clinic, and Red Wing School District. Ignite Afterschool will also award $423,159 in ESSER III funds to Restoration for All, Inc. to launch Project FUSON (Future Solution Now), a program to encourage girls of African Ancestry in Ramsey County to recognize their abilities in STEM and promote STEM careers. Programming will include career planning, workforce training and expectations, financial literacy, and providing pathways for achieving economic inclusion and self-sufficiency using culturally appropriate strategies. Girls will be matched with a mentor and role-play career development skills. The program will promote holistic wellness through activities like African storytelling, art therapy, and mindful breathing.
   
• Annapolis, Maryland: Using $25 million from the CARES Act in 2020, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan launched Project Bounce Back to help kids statewide recover from the stress and isolation of the coronavirus pandemic. It is a series of initiatives that are providing kids with mental health services, expanding access to youth development programs, and developing a "data-driven digital solution to build post-COVID resilience among Maryland's youth, families, and communities." The creation and implementation of the program were made possible by a public-private partnership between state education and crime prevention agencies, the Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maryland, and businesses. In the past year, participation in boys and girls club programs increased by 47 percent.
   
• Essex and Winooski, Vermont: Thanks to ESSER II state funding in the Summer Matters for All grant program, Camp Agape in Plymouth, Vermont, was able to serve 20 additional youth during summer 2021. All campers could participate free of charge and had free transportation to camp. The camp trained staff in youth mental health, first aid and crisis prevention, and hired a licensed mental health counselor to provide support around social-emotional learning skills, trauma and crisis intervention. The Summer Matters for All also funded Vermont Works for Women who partnered with afterschool directors, case managers from Vermont's Department of Children & Families, and Washington County mental health counselors and school guidance counselors to make their Rosie's Girls camp more accessible and affordable for youth. The program, located in Winooski, Vermont, offered 6 weeks of camp free of charge to 60 youth in 6 underserved communities.
   
• Lyndhurst, Ohio: The summer program at South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools, Greenview campus brings school and community organizations together to provide structured academic enrichment for students throughout the summer. The program utilizes district teachers, student services staff, and administrators along with several community organizations that come to the Greenview Campus to provide high quality, evidence based enrichment. Partners include, but are not limited to, Making a Difference Consulting (a mental and behavioral health provider), D.A.N.C.E. Therapy, The Phe'be Foundation (financial literacy), art, physical education, French class, and archeology. This program is funded by ESSER III.