Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Addresses Girls’ Mental Health and Mental Wellness with Mental Wellness Resources, Programming, Training, and Camp Partnerships
May 01, 2023
As girls of all ages face increased mental wellness challenges parents can rely on Girl Scouts for crucial support.
Farmingdale, NJ (May 1, 2023) – This Mental Health Awareness Month, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore announces new and enhanced mental wellness resources, programming, training, and camp partnerships to support girls and the adults who interact with them.
Adolescent girls in our community are facing mental health struggles including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and much more. According to the Center for Disease Control, 60% of teen girls had depressive symptoms in the past year and one in three girls reported seriously considering suicide in the past year. These statistics are mirrored in what Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore is seeing every day. Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore is urgently responding to this crisis with a multi-tiered plan to support the girls we serve. With these resources and programs, thousands more girls could potentially receive much-needed support in an environment of safety, inclusion, and sisterhood, encouraging a happier and healthier experience.
- A Mental Health/Mental Wellness campaign, in partnership with Denise Wegeman, MSW, LCSW, is being rolled out to educate staff, Girl Scout leaders, camp counselors and parents about mental health.
- Girl Scouts will be encouraged to learn and share ideas of addressing mental health and mental wellbeing and earn a patch.
- Volunteers, camp staff, and staff across the council will receive Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification. This will arm adult volunteers, troop leaders, and staff with the tools to address common youth mental health and substance use challenges.
- Partnerships with Mental Health professionals provides access to resources and experts, building capacity to support the mental wellbeing of young people, volunteers, and families.
- Patch program which reaches girls from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade with activities that boost resilience, lift mood, and share emotions. A patch is earned upon completion.
- Sponsored by a generous grant from Monmouth Park Charity Foundation, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore will partner with Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide and its signature program, Lead U, to bring programming to Camp Sacajawea during the summer of 2023. During the final week of camp, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore will welcome Lead U to host programming for the entire camp designed to provide resiliency, leadership, and mental health support programming. Through an experiential-based curriculum, supplemented by typical camp activities, girls aged 4-16 will be exposed to programming designed to empower them.
Heather Coburn, CEO, Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, states, “The goal is to empower the next generation to learn how to take care of themselves as well as others as we continue to recover from the pandemic and the ever- increasing mental health crisis that our girls are experiencing. Providing opportunities to destigmatize mental health and finding ways for all girls to have access to mental health resources will benefit countless girls today and into the future.”
For more information and to access valuable resources to support girls’ mental well-being visit gsFun.org/mentalwellness.
