The Impact of the I.S.B.E. Community Partnerships Grant
One year ago, Hope for the Day received an Illinois State Board of Education Community Partnerships Grant!
This grant allows us the opportunity to provide free mental health education and proactive suicide prevention sessions in both private and public schools all across Illinois. In the first year, we have provided 111 education sessions in 38 schools in the Chicagoland areas.
That’s 4,551 students, parents, and staff who have been educated on how to have mental health conversations in their community.
While these numbers can speak to the impact we’ve had on the school, they do not show how these experiences have positively impacted our team.
Maria Requena, one of our education instructors for Illinois schools, shared a bit about her experience.
“It’s incredible to recall the schools we went to last year, each name bringing to mind an array of faces and hallways and schools. Each place we went had something special about it, from the way staff would talk about their students, to the murals and mosaics on the walls. Each new classroom felt a little familiar as we grew more comfortable with teaching in new spaces.”
Requena continues with a distinct encounter.
“A memory that stands out to me was the parent education we did; we got to have a live translator in person…I am so grateful we got to give them this [education] in Spanish and English. Mental health is for everyone.”
Similar to this bilingual education, we made adjustments throughout the year to meet the needs of the school environments we entered. We created interactive worksheets and even found diverse outside perspectives on mental health to include in presentations.
We made each of these changes to ensure that our education sessions were culturally relevant and engaging for students.
Haniyyah King, another one of our education instructors for Illinois schools, shared her experience with getting to go back and visit schools in her very own community.
“Going back to my Noble school was powerful for me. I am a Noble alumni. At my school, it was a different time and it’s what led me to want to help kids in my community —understand and speak up about the things they face as children living with adult responsibility. Hope For The Day let me show the people in my past, that didn’t fully understand mental health, gain some understanding. It helped build grace between my personal past and mission in life.“
I have always been able to be a bridge, and in that moment I understood what it means to be a part of Hope For The Day’s foundation of building bridges and making connections.”
This past year has been transformative for our education department. While mental health education is something Hope for The Day has been doing for quite some time, this grant has allowed us to expand those experiences in schools.
It has challenged us to revamp the information we are presenting, as well as create lasting relationships with so many educators and students.
Allison Herman, Hope for the Day’s Director of Education, shares more about this.
"My favorite moments are the conversations we have after educations. Inspiring a young person to ask additional questions, being a sounding board for them, and giving students the tools they need to problem solve in their own communities. That growth is really cool to witness.”
As we gear up for our second year providing mental health education and proactive suicide prevention in schools through the I.S.B.E. Community Partnerships Grant, we are excited to see what this year will bring.
If you are a student, parent, administrator or educator in Illinois and looking to bring a mental health education to your school (grades 7 - 12), please fill out our interest form.