The Jed Foundation (JED) is a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults across the country. Through programs and partnerships, JED works with schools to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems while also equipping teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other.
In 2023, JED and Forefront launched a partnership to expand access to the JED High School program to high schools in Washington. JED High School is a three-year strategic planning and technical assistance program that partners with high schools to assess a community’s needs; develop a customized strategic plan to build on existing strengths; and implement tools, strategies, and techniques aimed at creating measurable improvements in student mental health and a more connected community. To date, we have enrolled 21 schools in the JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention program.
The partnership has given participating schools the best of both worlds. This includes JED’s data-driven, strategic planning paired and Forefront’s established expertise in Washington state alongside free access to Forefront’s Suicide Prevention LEARN gatekeeper training for participating schools.
So far, the results have been extremely encouraging. Nearly 8,000 high school students have benefited from JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention, and schools have reported an increased sense of preparedness to support students’ mental health needs. The partnership has also fostered important conversations around mental health and suicide prevention that continue to ripple through school communities.
Because of this, long-standing Forefront in the Schools communities have appreciated the opportunity to deepen their comprehensive suicide prevention programming, while schools that have never worked with us before are excited to join the program.
“It’s been incredibly exciting to work with our school partners across the state with JED’s support in launching JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention,” says Michelle Flores, Forefront’s School Mental Health Specialist, who supports schools in the program. “We’ve combined the insights and knowledge from Forefront’s work in Washington state with JED’s stellar reputation as a resource and programming partner in mental health promotion. We know how busy schools are, so we take intentional steps to ensure we are working within a school’s capacity. We emphasize the importance of building an interdisciplinary team, as suicide prevention requires all of us working together.”
Tracie Kelly, Assistant Principal at Cedarcrest High School, says, “The work of JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention is a research-based holistic approach to suicide prevention that builds off the schools’ existing systems and strengths. The framework provides guidance for what needs to be in place to best support the mental health of students, while being flexible enough for the work to be tailored to the specific needs of each school community. The work we are doing with Forefront and JED is making a difference!”
Flores agrees. “Through the data collected and analyzed by The Jed Foundation, I’ve seen schools take a variety of steps, both big and small, to implement changes in their communities,” she says. “These include prioritizing faculty and staff wellness, increasing outreach, strengthening partnerships with parents and caregivers, building school crisis plans, or adding social connection times during lunch periods for students to reduce isolation. In the long run, it’s our goal to see this impact reflected in school data. But for now, it’s incredibly rewarding to see the immediate impact of our partnership on schools.”
JED praised the impactful partnership. “Teens spend a great deal of their time in school, an environment that has the power to significantly support and advance student emotional well-being. Creating a culture of care where young people feel comfortable asking for help can have a huge positive impact on students and help them thrive,” says Tony Walker, JED’s Senior Vice President of Academic Programs. “JED High School Delivered by Forefront Suicide Prevention offers lifesaving resources as part of this three-year technical assistance program for participating Washington state high schools. JED’s innovative programming, combined with Forefront’s deep local expertise, has been a great success, and we are excited about what the 2024-25 school year will bring.”
We are excited to see how we can continue to leverage our partnership and improve the landscape of youth mental health and suicide prevention in Washington state schools.