United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
According to the World Health Organization, half of all mental health conditions start by age 14. Most cases go undetected and untreated until many years later or sometimes not at all. It’s not easy being an adolescent or a young adult. Not only are they experiencing physical, hormonal, and emotional changes that can be uncomfortable and confusing, but they’re also dealing with societal expectations and challenges.
Data from the CDC shows us that more than a third of high school students reported they experienced poor mental health during COVID-19. The details are staggering. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youths 15 to 29 years old. Depression, eating disorders, and substance use are common among this age group.
In early 2022, United Way brought together mental health experts to collaborate on solutions for youth mental health within our community. Advice and guidance came from local, state, and national experts, as well as those with lived experience. Together, we launched a new initiative, Teen Mental Wellness: Empowering Minds.
We can change lives of high school students by focusing on prevention, equity, and access to mental health services.
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New and increased gifts to Teen Mental Wellness: Empowering Minds are doubled by Medical College of Wisconsin from 7/1/24 to 6/30/25 up to $25,000.
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United Way prioritizes investing deeper into issue areas that meet the following criteria: an issue that truly impacts the community (indicated by data), an issue that our donors would be inspired to give to, and internal capacity and knowledge on the team to drive the work forward. The below facts are key to why this issue was selected.
44%
is the percentage of American teenagers that felt persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021. This is the highest level ever recorded.
Nearly 1 in 2
students in Wisconsin reported anxiety in 2019. A majority of youth in Wisconsin are connected to schools.
$100 billion
is the economic cost of untreated mental illness for all ages each year in the U.S.
We are adding seven schools beginning in the 2024-25 school year for a total of nine schools.
United Way plans to add schools to Empowering Minds over the next five school years on our way to elevating the mental wellness of 21,000 total students by 2030.
United Way’s Teen Mental Wellness: Empowering Minds initiative is centered in schools. This environment allows us to reach a majority of teens where they spend a majority of their days.
Achieving targeted milestones are the centerpiece of Empowering Minds Schools of Distinction. This is how success is measured. The six milestones are based on Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction’s School Mental Health Framework: Building & Sustaining a Comprehensive School Mental Health System. A benefit of using this framework is that schools are already engaged in this work. This initiative will provide the resources and coordination that schools need to be successful.
A Empowering Minds School of Distinction means building a Comprehensive School Mental Health System, which provides a continuum of services to promote student mental health and wellbeing. We know that positive mental health allows a teen to fully explore who they are and what they want to do with their life. Awareness and understanding of mental health is an important part of overall health and wellbeing.
Caregivers, teachers, school counselors, and other adults who interact with youth play a key role in helping youth build life skills that help them adapt to challenges in healthy and constructive ways. The benefits of school-based mental health include improved student learning, engagement, and graduation rates as well as a reduction in bullying, risky behaviors, substance abuse, school violence, and involvement in the juvenile justice system.
This milestone is achieved when the school, in partnership with the community, determines the assets and needs of the school and community to analyze how well the continuum of supports meets those needs and leverages strengths and resources.
This milestone is achieved when the school develops a Comprehensive School Mental Health System that relies on collaboration across key stakeholders, such as school and district staff, community partners, out-of-school time providers, students, and families.
This milestone is achieved when the school improves referral pathways by establishing a school mental health team to map available resources and interventions.They also develop guidelines for additional data collection and triaging referrals.
This milestone is achieved when the school offers an array of mental health promotion, early intervention, and treatment services for students, staff,and caregivers. This includes crisis support services, and policies and practices that foster mental health.
This milestone is achieved when the school identifies strategies that optimize financial and nonfinancial assets needed to maintain and improve the Comprehensive School Mental Health System.
This milestone is achieved when the school collects both quantitative and qualitative data to inform priorities and action steps to continuously improve the Comprehensive School Mental Health System.
Our goals are to:
Our goals are:
Tim Baack Heather Birk Audrey Burghardt Dr. Haji Camara Laura Cherone Dr. Clarence Chou Kimberlee Coronado Frank Cumberbatch Leanne Delsart Gabriela Dieguez Martina Gollin Graves Kristen Harris Amy Herbst Kia Holloway Leah Jepson Daysi Jimenez Dr. Lakeia Jones Tracey Loken Weber Mary Madden Kimberly Merath Kim Polki Benjamin Porter Chris Przedpelski Scott Schuler Dr. Sebastian Ssempijja LaShawndra Vernon Melissa Will Luke Waldo
Protecting Youth Mental Health, The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory
The Wisconsin School Mental Health Framework, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Strengthening Student Mental Health, Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health
Questions about Teen Mental Wellness: Empowering Minds, contact Amanda Weiler, MPH at 414.263.8116 or via email.