High Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit organization established by the High Family, recently awarded a $15,000 grant to Samaritan Counseling Center’s TeenHope program.
The program provides mental health screenings for anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts to students in middle and high school.
Since TeenHope’s beginning, almost 12,500 students have been screened with more than 2,300, or 18.5% of all students, being identified as at-risk and referred for services.
The program was developed to address the growing mental health crisis of teenagers in our community.
The Facts of Teen Mental Health
According to a recent Pennsylvania Youth Survey, almost 37% of Lancaster teens said they felt sad or depressed most days. Even more frightening is 16% of students surveyed reported having serious suicidal thoughts, and about 10% said they have attempted suicide.
The $15,000 grant from High Foundation will help TeenHope identify more at-risk teenagers, making it possible to screen 600 students and identify up to 100 students in need of help.
Transition to Digital
Additionally, the grant will be used to fund the transition to a digital platform, which will make the screening process more efficient and accessible.
“We are excited to make the transition to a digital screening. Hopefully we’ll be up and running for the fall 2021 schedule,” said Director of TeenHope Kim Moore. “This should streamline our process, help us reach more students and cut down on time spent on paperwork and data entry.”
Robin Stauffer, the executive director of High Foundation, said the grant was a good fit because of the foundation’s mission.
“High Foundation’s desire to align with community organizations to support positive change within areas of identified need, particularly given the mental health challenges that many of our young people are facing today, made working with TeenHope a natural fit,” said Robin. “We appreciate the important role that Samaritan Counseling Center plays in supporting children and young adults through their adolescent years with a program like TeenHope.”
With deep roots in Lancaster County, High Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Samaritan Counseling Center, as well as many other local nonprofits, contributing more than $2.5 million in 2020. To learn more about the foundation, go to highfoundation.org.
