Simply Healthcare Donates $180,000 to West River Non-Profit to Address Adolescents' Behavioral Health

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Simply Healthcare has donated $180,000 to Project LINK's eMerging Healthy Students program, a school-based behavioral health program offered at four Title 1 middle schools in Hillsborough County, Florida.

eMerging Healthy Students was developed by Project LINK and a team of healthcare professionals to support children who have been demonstrating behavior and emotional stressors related to COVID-19, in addition to social, school, and home life challenges. Student participants will engage in an online prevention focused emotional wellness resiliency app called "K'Bro," developed by YouROK Corporation; which will enable behavioral health counselors, school social workers, and therapist to capture a real-time assessment of an adolescent's emotional well-being via the use of its gaming features. A second innovative mobile technology called "CopeNotes" was also integrated in this student wellness program as a preventative digital health intervention that uses daily text messages to improve mental and emotional health.

The eMerging Healthy Students will benefit adolescents who have been experiencing low self-esteem, feeling bad about themselves, demonstrating an increase in anger and aggression, lacking coping skills, and problematic struggles with gaming and online engagement. The program's intervention strategies include student individual therapy, group counseling, meditation, yoga, music therapy, practicing self-care and device management to help students regain their self-confidence and reconnect with their life.

Our goal is to reduce the risk factors associated with behavioral health challenges among our students" states Tina Young, CEO of Project LINK. She explained, "these risk factors often lead to poor academic performance, behavior problems, school violence, substance abuse, and sadly - suicide."

One in six U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year. While research on the pandemic's effects on mental health is still in the initial stages, current evidence shows a surge in anxiety and depression among children and adolescents since the pandemic began, including young people of color and among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

"A healthy mind is as important as a healthy body," said Holly Prince, President of Simply Healthcare Medicaid Plans in Florida. "At Simply Healthcare, we're proud to support programs that strengthen the well-being of teens in Hillsborough County. When students get the support, they need during challenging times like these, they're better prepared to learn, grow and thrive."

For more information about eMerging Healthy Students, please visit their website at www.project-link.org.

Project LINK Contact:                                                                              
Jonathan Means
EmergU Telehealth ? Project Director
(813) 830.1219 cell | [email protected]

SOURCE Project LINK, Inc