Youth Mental Health

Mental health is a growing concern among youth nationwide. In Sullivan County youth face many health risks, including high rates of suicide and not enough mental health services. Additionally, young people report lacking access to essential resources and experiences that help them develop skills, feel connected and give them a sense of purpose.

In partnership with our schools, Sullivan 180 has prioritized youth mental health. The Sullivan 180 Youth Mental Health Program Manager leads initiatives that provide support and technical assistance to schools implementing programs such as SHAPE Assessments and Hope Squads. Additionally, Sullivan 180 offers mental health training and connects schools and communities to essential mental health resources.

SHAPE: School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation System

SHAPE is a free web-based platform that allows school districts to assess their mental health programs and resources on both a district and building level. SHAPE provides a private workspace that schools can utilize to evaluate and improve the quality of mental health services and supports that are available, while discovering new resources that can benefit our youth.

If your school is interested in participating in SHAPE, please contact Mylene Ortiz, Youth Mental Health Program Manager, at Mylene@Sullivan180.org or call (845) 295-2692. For additional information on SHAPE, visit TheSHAPESystem.com.

Hope Squad

Hope Squad is an evidence-based peer-to-peer suicide prevention program built around the power of connection. The program is based on key prevention strategies that reduce the risk of suicide in youth. Students are nominated by their peers to become Hope Squad members; and to learn about mental health from a trained advisor while performing intentional outreach to struggling peers. Sullivan 180, with support from the New York State Office of Mental Health, is hosting a three-year pilot of the Hope Squad program in two school districts at a middle and high school level. Staff Hope Squad advisors and student Hope Squad members will work to create active Hope Squads in their schools.

For a full list of trainings offered by Sullivan 180, visit our Trainings page.

Available Trainings

Recommended Resources

Mental Health Literacy (MHL)

We are pleased to offer the MHL Aware training through the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative (MHLC). This is a 60-minute self-paced training that addresses professional, personal, and community needs for knowledge, language, and confidence around the topic of mental health. This training serves as the initial step introducing the topic of Mental Health Literacy, explaining why it is important and providing real world application. For more information, please contact Mylene@Sullivan180.org or visit the Training Site.

Download the MHLC Toolkit