Mental illness and suicide are closely connected. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “90% of young people who die of suicide have a mental health condition at the time of their death”. This demonstrates that suicide prevention programming should not be offered independently of broader mental health education. Erika’s Lighthouse is a provider […]
One of the unique aspects of Erika’s Lighthouse programming is that we believe that depression education is suicide awareness and prevention. When Erika’s Lighthouse began, conversations around good mental health were rarely if ever discussed in the classroom. Our founders felt it was important to not just focus on suicide and depression but to develop […]
Erika’s Lighthouse has grown in the past 17 years from providing mental health education to a few suburban Chicago schools to now providing a comprehensive mental health education program to more than 1 million students nationwide. The Erika’s Lighthouse community includes: Teachers and school administrators who have taught the no-cost, evidence-informed suicide prevention programming, Middle-schoolers […]
It’s summer break time! It can be a huge relief to have the day-to-day pressures of the school year behind you. At the same time, summer’s looser structure can sometimes leave you feeling lonely or out of sorts. The Erika’s Lighthouse community knows that positive mental health practices are important year-round (and not just when […]
Last month, more than 375 students, parents, and educators took the Erika’s Lighthouse Positivity Pledge. That is at least 11,625 acts of putting some positivity in the world. How great is that?? Many thanks to all of you who signed the pledge and those who engaged their family and friends to support their commitment to […]
