What your donation will do:

Funds raised will support a teen mental health campaign by the SPEAK UP Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Coalition, programs of Jewish Family Services. Donations will be used to sponsor national experts and mental health advocates to come to our schools to provide education to students, teachers and administration to raise awareness of mental health issues and provide resources to be used in times of crisis to prevent suicide.

In the past year, we have helped arrange visits by Kevin Hines, an internationally known suicide attempt survivor and mental wellness advocate, to three of our Kansas City school districts. We plan to use and facilitate advancements in technology to enhance communication between students and teachers to identify changes of behavior which may be predictors of suicidality as part of a crisis intervention plan. Our goal is to reach every student in our local high schools and to erase the stigma of mental illness.