Supporting Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: Out-of-School Time Field Convening

April 17, 2026, 9:00 am PT/10:00 am MT/11:00 am CT/12:00 pm ET

Equipping the OST Sector to Support Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention with The Institute for Youth Mental Health

America’s young people continue to struggle with their mental health in an environment of constantly unfolding and overlapping societal crises, layered onto ongoing challenges with social media, technology, AI, loneliness and academic pressures. 

We know high quality afterschool and summer programs provide young people with safe spaces that foster belonging and positive relationships with peers and adults. These can be the foundational elements of comprehensive youth mental health and suicide prevention supports, if organizations have access to the support and training they need to  embed research-backed strategies into their existing programs. That’s the idea behind The Institute for Youth Mental Health, a new partnership between America’s Promise Alliance and the JED Foundation, supported by Goodness Web and Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation.

The Institute for Youth Mental Health is working with a cohort of APA-affiliated commuity-based organizations to integrate strategies outlined in JED’s Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention for Community-Based Organizations. Participating organizations engage over 18 months in the cohort-based program, focused on content knowledge, expert training, assessment tools, strategic planning and implementation support.

Join the EdFunders OST Impact Group on Friday, April 17, 12:00-1:00 pm ET as we talk with leaders, funders and practitioners involved in this effort. This webinar is free and open to all.  Register once for our monthly series and join as your schedule allows. Click here.

Speakers:

• Celine Coggins, CEO, The Goodness Web 
• Mike O’Brien, CEO, America’s Promise Alliance
• Adee Shepen, Chief Growth Officer, Jed Foundation

We deeply appreciate the time and expertise of our speakers! Resources from this meeting are available here. To view the recording, please email: impactgroups@edfunders.org

About the Series

Join the EdFunders Out-of-School Time Impact Group for an ongoing conversation with funders, practitioners and other field leaders centered on learning about and with the out-of-school time sector, focusing on essential issues in OST now and in the future. Each video call will dive into a specific content area, challenge, and/or opportunity for the field and feature experts in the sector and philanthropy.

Register once for the ongoing series and join as your schedule allows. Already registered? We’ll send you a reminder of your meeting access beforehand.

Calls are scheduled from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET on the third Friday of each month.

See video and resources from past calls in the event archive.