Finally, an Intervention That Might Have Helped Keep High-Risk Teens Alive

Alcohol has claimed more lives in Rio Arriba County in the past five years than other drugs. SMART, a secular alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous, provides one path toward recovery, increasingly incorporating scientific findings into treatment as well as support for family members of addicts, helping them change the environment.

Connecticut is attempting to reduce prison recidivism by changing parole practices. Changes to the system are allowing parole officers to foster relationships with parolees and counsel them as people, not as cases.

In Democratic Republic of Congo, rape has become a routine weapon of war - but the country has little or no treatment for those with mental health issues resulting from sexual assault. A method of group therapy designed for victims of trauma is helping survivors of sexual violence, enabling women to overcome the fear and shame to rebuild some semblance of normalcy, and a path forward.

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

Raw Art Works is a nonprofit youth development organization that provides art therapy services to 290 youth each week. Studies show art therapy can reduce psychiatric readmission rates for patients, and those who participated in the program say it has been life-changing, teaching them coping skills that supported them into adulthood.

The Hope Squad teaches students how to advocate for themselves and their peers and teaches the question, persuade, refer (QPR) approach to navigating mental health. While the students aren’t trained therapists, they help their peers get the mental health support they need. Over the years the program has referred thousands of students to mental healthcare professionals and decreased the rate of suicide in the school district.

Project Phoenix offers a one-year preventative mental health initiative for teens in underserved communities. It provides trauma-informed therapy and social-emotional learning through art, theater, writing and music, as well as education on human and sexual rights. The program aims to equip vulnerable youth with skills to combat mental health challenges and has impacted over 76,500 individuals so far

Women and Children with Albinism in Uganda is a supportive shelter for women and children with albinism to build a community and be safe from stigma and violence. At the shelter, women are trained in a variety of skills, like tailoring and farming, to be able to sustain themselves and their families. Over the past decade, about 40 women and children across four regions have been positively impacted by the group.

Minds United Football Club hosts weekly sessions for people to join together and play football, while also addressing their mental health and well-being. Minds United, and similar sports clubs, aim to create a “we-agency,” providing people with a sense of being part of something bigger than themselves that allows them to feel empowered and supported. Sports groups like Minds United foster community among people who may be experiencing loneliness or mental health issues and are in need of a healthy outlet, particularly for men who face significant mental health stigma.

The Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) is deployed by first responders after a traumatic incident, like sudden death. Citizen volunteers are trained in “emotional first aid” and available to provide support 24/7. TIP has 14 affiliates nationwide, one of which responded to 213 calls between June 2019 and February 2020 with 100% reliability.