Cross’ Teens for Healthy Youth (THY) team is up and running. Teens for Healthy Youth is the youth chapter of the Lowcountry Alliance for Healthy Youth (LCAHY), and the program is implemented in schools across Beaufort county. Participating schools include Cross Schools, Hilton Head Island High School, Hilton Head Christian Academy, Bluffton High, and May River High School. Officers participate in different projects each month with September focusing on Suicide Prevention. This year’s officers launched the year with visits to Cross Chat groups to deliver a message for September’s Suicide Prevention Awareness month, themed as Strength in Scripture: Power of Faith for Mental Health

The next THY project involves collecting uplifting messages, verses or phrases written by Cross students to place on specially shaped fall leaves. The “message leaves” will be added to the YOU MATTER tree on the US hallway. The team hopes that the tree will offer anyone struggling with negative thoughts or who knows someone facing a challenge will read the message leaves and be encouraged and uplifted. The messages can be shared with anyone who needs support and encouragement.

See the THY Fact Card (pictured below) and access resources via the QR code. These  resources help anyone who might need them either for themselves or for a friend/family member. THY aims to change the stigma related to being afraid to ask when struggling and instead encourages students who are not okay to reach out and ask for help.

Chat group leaders will collect completed fall leaves for Nurse Wendy Cummings and THY officers who will preview and get them on the tree. The mission of THY is to unite the community and to promote positive choices. More on the mission of THY and LCAHY can be found at https://www.lcahealthyyouth.com/mission-1