What health literacy challenge does your program seek to address?
NC Project AWARE/ACTIVATE aims to improve mental health awareness, understanding, and resilience in schools. In addition, it seeks to foster health equity by promoting equitable access to high quality, well-coordinated mental health and substance abuse services for North Carolina students, from prekindergarten to grade 12.
What approach does your program use to address this health literacy challenge?
NC Project AWARE/ACTIVATE uses a continuum of education, universal screening, and appropriate services and supports for all students in response to varying levels of need. Its approach focuses on building resilience and a supportive, stigma-free environment for students and educators via the following mental health literacy strategies:
- Providing training and resources to all school staff. These trainings focus on recognizing signs of mental health challenges, understanding how to respond appropriately, and creating a supportive school environment for students’ mental well-being.
- Teaching both students and educators about coping mechanisms and resilience-building strategies to manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
- Increasing awareness of mental health resources available in schools and communities, including connecting students and families to counseling services, crisis intervention, and support networks, making it easier for students to access help when needed.
- Fostering a culture of support, where mental health is treated as a priority, and stigma surrounding mental illness is reduced, including promoting policies that support well-being for both students and staff.
What are your program’s results to date?
The first NC AWARE/ACTIVATE cohort ran from 2018 to 2024 and served three North Carolina school districts. Here are some results from Cohort 1:
- The study sites revised and/or created more than 90 school mental health policies in areas such as crisis protocol, local suicide ideation response and assessment protocol, and therapeutic support/intervention.
- More than 40,000 school-based and related staff members were trained in topics such as youth mental health first aid, suicide risk protocol, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed care.
- More than 80 memoranda of understanding were entered to provide services such as on-campus/outpatient therapy to students referred by school counselors and behavioral liaisons and to provide day treatment programming.
- The study sites achieved 88 percent access to mental health services.
- The program earned a best practice designation from the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs. It’s also one of six strategies listed in the North Carolina School Behavioral Health Action Plan.
What are your program’s future plans?
Cohort 2 of NC AWARE/ACTIVATE, funded by a second AWARE grant, is in progress. Several privately funded sites are using the program as well.
Where can people learn more about your program?
You can learn more at the NC AWARE/ACTIVATE website.