ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A local program designed to help break down the walls of silence around mental health is getting ready to break through the stigma.
The Care Connect+ youth behavioral health program called BRAVE (Be Resilient And Voice Emotions) is holding its first in-person summit this spring.
Established by Flagler Health+, Care Connect+ is a social health organization aimed at advancing the physical, social and economic health of Northeast Florida communities. With the support of nearly 100 community partners, Care Connect+ connects people to healthcare, dental care, prescriptions, rental and utility bill assistance, transportation, housing, food assistance and more.
BRAVE is established in school districts to help provide mental health resources to students. It expanded into three new districts – Clay, Nassau and Putnam County, this school year.
BRAVE has partnered with 39 St. Johns County Schools since 2018. To start the year, the district saw a 20% increase in the number of students needing behavioral health services.
According to Care Connect+, more than 1,300 students have already been referred and helped across the four counties this school year.
However, to make sure the program is helping as many students as possible, the social health organization is hosting a summit to help kids open up and talk about, or even just think about, mental health.
"We know that there are so many stresses going on with youth and high school, with youth out in the community," Jennifer Wills, Flagler Health+ Coordinator of Programming and Community Partnerships says. "So, we want to provide the venue so that we can make sure that they're sharing information, correct information, and receiving information that they can utilize."
The event is free and open to all high school students in the four counties BRAVE serves, plus Flagler and Volusia.
There will be free food, entertainment, music and speakers, including some of TikTok’s most popular mental health advocates like keynote speaker Johnny Crowder, a leading mental health advocate and national public speaker.
Students can register on Eventbrite for the summit, which will be held Wednesday, March 30 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m at the St. Augustine Amphitheater.
More details about the event can also be found on the page.