Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming and the Boys and Girls Clubs Wyoming Alliance are partnering to address youth mental health in clubs across the state.
The two organizations announced a $550,000 grant this week that will allow Boys and Girls Clubs in Wyoming to incorporate trauma-informed practices into their programs, better connect children and their families to mental health services and build mental health resources into the clubs themselves.
Their work expands upon a national campaign by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the parent organization for all 34 Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America to boost trauma-informed care and youth mental health for the more than 3.5 million children served by club after-school programs nationwide.
“We all know mental health is a huge issue in Wyoming,” said Diane Gore, the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming. “We have a firm belief that if you can start kids earlier with some of these strategies that it really will make a difference.”
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The grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming will allow Boys and Girls Clubs across Wyoming to expand trauma-informed training for their staff. “Trauma-informed” describes the relatively new framework that has become a best practice across health care in recent years. “It doesn’t necessarily ask, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ It’s more ‘What happened to you?’” Gore said. “Then they’re able to go from there in order to address the issues and develop strategies around those traumas that kids experience.”
The hope is that by training staff members in trauma-informed care Boys and Girls Clubs can better work with both children and their families, including connecting them with mental health resources in their communities and around the state.
“This brings a focus and attention that is absolutely critical for our kids,” said Ashley Bright, the CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming. “Our parents ask for this type of service. They’re asking for support in the areas of mental health.”
Boys and Girls Clubs across the state will also look to improve access to mental health services for youth and staff by piloting virtual therapy through the clubs. The grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming and funding from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association will help clubs add mental health professionals to their staffs. Bright said Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming envisions a behavioral specialist and counselor overseeing its mental health work, including the expansion of programs that help kids with social and emotional development.
“For us to really impact and change lives, we need to cover all areas,” said Derek DeBoer, the vice president of operations for Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming.
“We have staff that have been with us for 20 years that manage those behaviors, and when we see the red flags, we know where to go,” Bright said. “But we’re going to go deeper. We’re going to learn a lot more through the training, through the efforts of direct counseling [and the] direct expertise that we’ve never had before.”
Wyoming has one of the highest suicide rates in the nation and like many states struggles with youth mental health. Almost one out of every 10 students in the state has attempted suicide in the last year, according to the Wyoming Department of Health’s Prevention Needs Assessment Survey. Half of Wyoming youth with major depression, some 3,000 kids, do not receive any mental health treatment, according to Mental Health America’s 2023 report.
The Caring Foundation of Wyoming, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s giving arm, has worked with the state’s Boys and Girls Clubs on youth mental health in the past, but this year the company was able to secure more money through a matching grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.
Gore said one of the goals in strengthening mental health for youth across Wyoming’s Boys and Girls Clubs is early intervention. Investing in youth mental health can help to remove the stigma around seeking help, she said. “We want that access to be there, and we want the kids to know that it’s OK to not be OK,” Gore said.
In Gore’s view, everyone in Wyoming, including companies, has a stake in meeting the mental health needs of children in the state.
“Everybody has to do their part,” she said.
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