Your generosity supports the mental health and wellness of young people!
Rye Youth Council’s mission is to support the social, emotional, and mental well-being of kids in grades K-college: right now our work is more important than ever.
Post-pandemic rates of psychological distress among young people have increased: 1 in 4 adolescents experience a mental health challenge each year, and 50% of all diagnosed mental health illnesses begin by age 14.
This year, Rye Youth Council (RYC) launched a comprehensive Mental Health Program to support the increasing need for care and resources for youth and families.
Your support will directly impact our ability to deliver and expand these efforts, some of which are below:
- RYC RESTORE offers affordable mental health therapy for kids ages 10-22. This past year, our staff provided weekly therapy to 46 young people, totaling 464 in-person and telehealth sessions!
- RYC launched the first-ever Peer-to-Peer depression awareness and suicide prevention initiative in Rye High School, resulting in students recognizing the signs of a friend in distress, and increasing their knowledge about how to seek help at school.
- Our youth educator taught children in Rye’s 3rd, 4th, and 6th-grade classrooms how to recognize their big feelings and begin understanding how to regulate their emotional responses.
- RYC taught parents, educators, clergy, and other adults Youth Mental Health First Aid, to help them recognize signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and connect kids to care.
- Our new Student-Athlete Mental Health program educated teens and parents about the increased rates of anxiety, depression, and disordered eating among athletes and offered ways to cope and thrive.
Now, more than ever, we need your financial support to increase the mental health support our children, teens and young adults need. Please give today!
Peace, health, and happiness to you and yours.