Youth Resilience

In rural communities, too many young people are navigating stress, isolation, and mental health challenges without enough support. Care is hard to access and even harder to sustain.

AscendRural partnered with local leaders to test new approaches that meet youth where they are, piloting solutions designed to build resilience, expand care, and support the people who support them.

Status: a quick look where we’re at in our process with this impact theme

5. Report ⬅

Turn results into insights that scale impact.
1. Discovery

Listen first. Ground in community needs and rural insight.
2. Recruit

Source the right partners -- technology and community.
3. Accelerate

Prepare, align, and design for pilot success in a four-week Accelerator.
4. Implement

Launch, support, and learn in real time.

Supportiv is a real-time, anonymous, 24/7 digital peer-to-peer support platform. It facilitates small, moderated group conversations addressing mental, emotional, and social challenges while providing valuable resources for youth.

Technology companies

Psyche Care is a digital caregiver support platform designed to empower parents to become therapeutic caregivers.

Community collaborators

CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital Clara's House is a partial hospitalization program (PHP) serving children and adolescents ages 3-18 struggling with emotional and/or mental/behavioral difficulties.
Selander Coaching and Consulting’s provides mental health awareness, suicide awareness, suicide prevention, and other societal education services to under-served and at-risk communities.
The Shop is a non-profit charitable organization committed to providing community support to all teens and young adults as they transition into independence and adulthood.
Smiles for Jake’s mission is to educate, offer resources, and provide response efforts aimed to challenge and change the stigma around mental health and suicide by building a culture of compassion, connection, and hope.
The Brainerd Family YMCA continues to be a community hub, providing programs and services which help develop strong and resilient youth, support healthy living and wellness, and to also create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.

“I love AscendRural’s approach to co-developing solutions: Their focus on learning from these communities and iterating throughout the pilot process is exciting to see. We’re so grateful to have this opportunity so early on in our solution’s development”

— Mallika Pajjuri, Co-founder and CEO, PsycheCare

Insights

Youth Resilience Pilot Report

Learn more about the Youth Resilience in Rural Communities: 90-Day Pilot Report.

Read the Pilot Report
Disparities in Rural Mental Health

Disparities in Rural Mental Health: The Case for Innovative Solutions

Read the whitepaper
AscendRural aims to bridge the gap between innovation and central Minnesota

Community leaders, technology partners tackle rural-focused challenges

Read more