STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The latest survey results concerning the mental health of  youth in the Wood River Valley will be unveiled Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Community Campus in Hailey.

The Communities for Youth team from Boise State University will discuss this year’s survey results at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Community Campus. Pizza will be provided and Spanish interpretation will be available.

Families are encouraged to bring their children and teens.

“This survey helps us understand where we’re making progress and where more support is needed, so we can build a healthier, more connected community for every young person,” said Sarah Seppa, director of community health and engagement at St. Luke’s Wood River.

This is the third year the Blaine County School District has surveyed students on youth well-being in partnership with St. Luke’s Health System and the Mental Well-Being Initiative.

Seventy percent of Blaine County School District students in sixth grade and above took part in the survey. For the first time, the survey also included data from Sage School middle and high school students and Syringa Mountain School middle schoolers.

The survey examined risk and protective factors influencing youth mental health in an effort to guide programs that support student well-being.

Last year’s findings found that only 15 percent of students felt a strong sense of feeling important and valued. Only 35 percent of students said they had a trusted adult outside their family to turn to in times of need.

In response, the school district and Mental Well-Being initiative partnered with 50 community partners to launch the Teen-Led Activities Grant Program, which funds youth-designed social events to strengthen relationships and create healthy, substance-free spaces for kids to gather.

They also expanded the Sources of Strength suicide-prevention program at Wood River High School. More than 75 youth leaders are involved, promoting help-seeking among fellow students, while strengthening peer-to-peer support, building resilience and improving connections with trusted adult mentors.

“For the third year, we’ve partnered with St. Luke’s and Boise State University on the Communities for Youth initiative—and now, the data is telling a story,” said Jim Foudy, superintendent of the Blaine County School District. “We’re seeing clear trends, and it’s evident: supporting our youth will take all of us, working together as a community.”

“Improving youth mental well-being is bigger than any single program or organization—it takes all of us moving in the same direction,” concurred Jenna Vagias, executive director of the Mental Well-Being Initiative.

Want to know more? Visit https://www.communitiesforyouth.org/blainecounty or https://www.slwrf.org/blaine-countys-mental-well-being-initiative/.