CINCINNATI — In its first major initiative since launching in 2024, Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!) is rolling out its "Schools of Wellness" program to increase youth wellness through education and engagement in mentally healthy activities throughout the school environment.
The organization is seeking 8 to 10 middle or high schools in Ohio and Kentucky to participate in the pilot program. Schools can be urban, suburban, or rural and may be public or private. Those selected in April will complete a building self-assessment to help school leaders evaluate their current wellness initiatives, practices, culture, and policies. The assessment is based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) framework, which defines eight dimensions of wellness: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual.
Watch more about the program below:
Along with launching the Schools of Wellness framework, HEY! is also working to expand its youth peer partnership program, said Executive Director Clare Zlatic Blankemeyer.
"School of Wellness will launch our certified youth peer supporter partnership with the state and will be introduced over the next month," Blankemeyer said. "There's a lot that's really sparking when I think of your question, Adrian, of like, what I'm really excited about? Initiatives like this need to be able to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, 'How do we know we're successful?'"
HEY! is collaborating with the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital to assess the program’s impact and move beyond anecdotal evidence toward measurable outcomes.
"Treatment providers are going back together and saying, 'How do we reassess our policies and practices when working with youth around intake, around mandated reporting, so we can build a more youth-centered treatment process?'" Blankemeyer said.
This initiative is driven by young people who help guide HEY! and its mission. Brooke Winstead, a HEY! fellow and youth executive team member understand firsthand the importance of open conversations about mental health.
"Recognizing that mental health can be a silent crisis, I got tired of being silent about it," Winstead said.
Initially, she did not plan to be so vocal about her struggles.
"I was like, okay, maybe I need to kind of switch it up and be authentic and letting people know, like, 'Hey, today I'm having some extreme anxiety,' or 'Today I don't feel like getting out of bed, but I do have to go to class, but I'm like 75/25 ongoing,’” she explained.
For Winstead, having her voice heard and influencing HEY! initiatives is fulfilling.
"I feel gratified that I can be in the room helping form these decisions, keeping in mind all of the other youth who may look like me or who don’t look like me and who face different challenges," she said.
HEY! aims to amplify youth voices and create lasting change in student mental health support.
You can nominate your school here.
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