School Based Mental Health & Suicide Prevention

Project Details

Our kids need us more now than ever!

A healthy student has a better chance to develop skills, learn and succeed in school. Unfortunately, many students come to school with emotional and behavioral health challenges affecting their academic performance and overall health. In fact, we know from the following facts that our kids are both silently and not-so-silently crying out for help, and we need to urgently act on this call …

~ SAMHSA reported in 2021 that depression in children 12-17 had more than doubled in Nebraska in the past 10 years.

~ In April 2021 the CDC had reported an increase in suicide attempts of 25%.

~ The Surgeon General reported in December 2021 that in the past year suicide attempts increased by 51% - double that of the CDC April 2021 report.

~ A person dies by suicide once every 32 hours in Nebraska.

~ Suicide is the #1 cause of death for 10-14 year olds in Nebraska and 2nd leading cause for 15-24 year olds.

Easy access to mental health counseling, early prevention and crisis response, along with no one being turned away regardless of their ability to pay is the key to help as many children as possible. Heartland Counseling's School Based Mental Health Program covers not only the initial intake and assessment, but also all follow-up therapy appointments and suicide prevention – all with NO out-of-pocket cost to the child or the family. This program gives these children a better chance at success in life, helps to break down the stigma, and also helps to prevent suicide.

But we can’t do it alone.

Your support helps break down the financial barriers of co-pays and deductibles for kids receiving therapy, and provides the education and support to prevent suicide.

By having a licensed mental health practitioner from Heartland in the schools, it relieves some strain on the school personnel and allows the students to get the help they need. The program's model helps remove any barriers that might prevent someone from accessing confidential mental health counseling. Students who are uninsured or underinsured are never turned away. Mental health practitioners are available to meet immediately with students in a school based setting convenient for the student. There are no delays, denials of, or approval from insurance companies for mental health care - the program's priority is to provide the care the student needs.

You can help save lives and help these kids get off on the right foot by donating today.

And now your gift can go TWICE as far thanks to the matching gift (up to $2,500) from F&M Bank! Please donate now.

Suicide Prevention & Youth Peer Support

Project Wrap Up

THANK YOU to match partner F&M Bank and all who donated for helping us exceed our goal of raising over $5,000 for Suicide Prevention & Youth Peer Support!!

Project Details

Help our kids say YES to life!

The deck is stacked against them ...

~ Nebraska opioid use increased 46%, methamphetamine use 73% in Nebraska between 2017-2020!
~ Challenges of mental illness, trauma, substance abuse, LGBTQIA+, ethnic or racial differences increase the vulnerability of our underserved youth.
~ COVID exacerbated risk factors for poor mental health especially anxiety and stress.
~ 82% of youth in systems of care have experienced at least one traumatic event before entering services; 41% of those with a trauma history have had suicidal thoughts (SAMHSA 2018).  
~ 25% of young adults have seriously contemplated suicide during the COVID crisis (CDC 2020).

YOU can help! Our youth need services now! YOU can make a difference in their lives! AND your gift will be DOUBLED* thanks to F&M Bank!

Meet Tommy** ... 

Tommy** came to Heartland after getting out of the hospital for being suicidal. He suffers from depression and anxiety. We were able to get him started with therapy, participating in Youth Peer Support, and he started going to The Life Center. These services helped Tommy better control his behaviors, improve relationships in his life, and graduate from high school. Now we're assisting him in finding his first job and becoming independent in life.

Meet Sara** ...

Sara** was having a very tough senior year - full of trials and tribulations. She was working hard by going to school and getting in her required intern hours, all while also taking care of siblings and home life. Although she should have been enjoying her final year of high school, she was required to be a caregiver and very independent. Thanks to services at Heartland, including Youth Peer Support, Sara was able to talk through her struggles, get the support she needed, and graduate from high school.

Heartland's Certified Youth Peer Support Specialist, Jasmine Russell, reflects back on the first year of the program, "Many of the youth in the program are struggling, trying to figure out how to fit in and wondering if there is anyone else out there 'like' me. The middle school youth seem to be having the hardest time trying to do anything to fit in. It can be viewed as "attention-seeking", but in actuality, they simply need support as they try to find out who they are and who they want to be. ... I find it easy to relate to many of their stories and can understand what it is like to hide or be ashamed of the parts of themselves that the world might not be ready to accept. They have taught me that more so now than ever, being your true authentic self is okay regardless of what people think or say."

YOUR GIFT TODAY helps wrap services around these kids. YOUR GIFT gives them hope. YOUR GIFT can give them LIFE! AND your gift can be DOUBLED thanks to matching funds from F&M Bank!!

*F&M Bank is matching up to $2,500 in donations made to Heartland Counseling's "Suicide Prevention & Youth Peer Support" project through the Siouxland Big Give. THANK YOU!!

**Names have been changed to protect these individuals and keep their stories private and confidential.

Suicide Prevention & Youth Crisis

Project Details

Nothing can explain the pain and the loss felt by family and friends when a loved one takes their own life. Unfortunately, suicide rates in Siouxland continue to see an increase especially as COVID anxieties, depression, and isolation take their toll. And suicide does not discriminate – we are seeing children, women, parents, men, and our elderly suffering and taking their own lives.

Heartland Counseling Services has been working tirelessly to respond to crisis calls, to wrapping services around individuals contemplating suicide, to prevent suicide, and to counsel those left behind from a completed suicide. Your support of this Siouxland Big Give Project will help enable continued education and prevention of suicide and help fund our Youth Crisis Response Team. Your gift will: 

• Raise awareness and break the stigma associated with mental illness,
• Promote positive mental health,
• Help children and other individuals get the mental health services they need,
• Wrap multiple services around those children and individuals to keep them out of our hospitals and morgues, and
• Help fund our Youth Crisis Response Team – a critical Team at Heartland that was just notified that it will no longer be financially underwritten by the state.

PLUS, your donation will go TWICE as far thanks to a generous match being offered by F&M Bank of up to $2,500! F&M Bank has already committed to investing in Suicide Prevention and Youth Crisis – to investing in the children, families and individuals in Siouxland – and they will be matching your Big Give donation up to $2,500!

Donate today to prevent suicide and help our youth live. Remember, your gift will be going twice as far thanks to the F&M Bank match!

The Life Center

Project Details

The Life Center served 36 individuals diagnosed with severe persistent mental illness and/or substance abuse issues in the past year. Our goal for this funding is to assist these individuals with their recovery in a safe haven and provide them with alternative therapies to improve their mood. All of these individuals have been in traditional mental health counseling or talk therapy for years. We are requesting funding for the Circles Program, an alternative therapies approach which is often not available for those who struggle with severe mental illness due to cost. By providing yoga therapy, art therapy, YMCA group membership, and dietary education, individuals will be able to continue to experience these alternative approaches that they have experienced over the past year. Since the program started in March 2018, the individuals at The Life Center have completed the evidence based DSM-5 Cross Cutting Screening weekly. The screening measures overall mood and health. The overall results were significant and showed an 82% improvement in their overall health and mood in the course of 16 weeks. We would like to continue these alternative therapies to maintain or further improve the individuals overall mental health and well-being.