The social and emotional well-being of California’s students has come under increasing strain in recent years. From COVID-related isolation to rising rates of anxiety and trauma exposure, students are navigating complex challenges, often without adequate mental health support.
In response, peer support and peer-to-peer mentoring have emerged as promising, evidence-based approaches for enhancing student engagement, destigmatizing mental health services and fostering a sense of community.
To better understand and expand the potential of these approaches, BBDKSM, in partnership with The Children’s Partnership, is conducting an expansive evaluation of TCP’s Peer-to-Peer Youth Mental Health High School Pilot Demonstration across eight diverse high school sites in California: Sierra Continuation, DaVinci RISE, Mission Hills, Serrano, Oakland Technical, Nevada Union, El Cerrito and Antioch. This report shares key themes and findings from Year 1 of the pilot demonstration, and is one of several to be released during the evaluation of the pilot ahead of the final evaluation report.
