Empowering students with a lifeline for a lifetime.

We provide the leading depression education and suicide prevention curriculum in the U.S. It’s easy for busy educators to implement and is 100% free. 

Our goal? Equip every student with the skills and knowledge to recognize early signs of depression and take action.

✓ Entirely FREE

✓ Peer-to-peer approach

✓ 1:1 support 

✓ Skills-based curriculum built by experts

✓ User-friendly & perfect for busy educators

✓ SPRC Best Practices Registry

three young student going to school

Our Why

Every student deserves good mental health.

Fifty percent of mental illness occurs before age 14, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people. So many families have been touched by mental illness, including many of ours. 

While it would be easy to feel overwhelmed by these statistics, Erika’s Lighthouse uses them as a rallying cry for change and an end to our youth mental health crisis. 

In fact, 93% of students believe we should be talking about mental health — and with our classroom education, empowerment clubs, family engagement, and policy and staff training, we’re making it easier to open up these life-saving conversations and ensure students have the knowledge and support to achieve mental well-being. 

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After using Erika’s Lighthouse curriculum:

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of students reported being able to identify overwhelming feelings and/or signs and symptoms of depression.

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of students increased their identification of trusted adults outside the home.

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of students report increased comfort levels in speaking with an adult about mental health.

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of students increased their identification of trusted adults outside the home.

Check out our real-time, data-driven results:

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Creating hope through partnership.

Addressing mental health can’t wait — and it takes all of us. We’re proud to partner with schools across the country to help busy educators equip students with the skills they need to navigate mental health challenges today — with lifelong skills they can use to care for themselves and others into the future. 

We believe every student has the right to mental well-being, regardless of their location, and every school has the opportunity to become a beacon of hope.

Register for FREE Access

High-quality, FREE, ready-to-use mental health curriculum.

One-on-one Support, Every Step of the Way

When you create an account, one of our team members will reach out as your primary point of contact. This ensures you receive support in real time, from planning through implementation. 

4 Ways to Open Up Life-Saving Conversations

Classroom Education

Educational lessons about mental health, depression and suicide.

Empowerment Clubs

Mental health clubs empower young people to change the world.

Family Engagement

Programs and resources for families to be partners in mental health.

Policy & Staff Training

Staff training, well-being activities and more for a positive climate.

Online Resource Portal

Use our portal to quickly and easily access the materials you need to get started!

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“We have been implementing lessons and have been able to support and reach students that would typically fly under the radar. We are grateful for the partnership!”

Health Educator, Illinois

Turning Loss into Action

Our Story

Erika’s Lighthouse was founded in 2004 by Virginia and Thomas Neuckranz after their daughter Erika lost her life to depression. Along with their family, friends and community, they have a goal of creating free mental health programs for schools to Get Depression Out of the Dark.

Learn More

Addressing today’s youth mental health crisis takes all of us — and your donation helps us provide free curriculum.

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Our Partners

Our partners are working alongside us to improve youth mental health in complementary ways.

Supporting students and educators across the country.

Real stories, real impact

Submit your impact story: School Professionals | Donors