NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., July 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Effective School Solutions (ESS), the leading provider of school-based mental health services for K-12 school districts, and the Madison Holleran Foundation (MHF), are proud to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Madison Holleran Mental Health Action Scholarship. This scholarship was founded to not only drive awareness about suicide prevention but also to hear from high school students about innovative approaches they believe their schools can take to help young adults navigate through mental health challenges they are facing today. This topic is more important than ever given the impact the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on mental health. The scholarship honors Madison Holleran, an Allendale, New Jersey, native and all-state athlete who died by suicide as a first-year student at the University of Pennsylvania in 2014.
As part of the scholarship process, high school seniors across the country submitted essays about mental health support programs they implemented at their high schools. The winners include:
- Katie Contey, Mahwah High School: Katie wanted to help herself and her classmates overcome the impact of social isolation and virtual school due to the pandemic. As a result, Katie founded Students Relieving Stress. This club strives to provide an open forum and safe space for students to come together to cope with the stress they are experiencing.
- Alyssa Cornetta, Midland Park High School: Alyssa is the founder of THRIVE, a club that focuses on reducing mental health stigma, normalizing conversations regarding mental health, creating healthy habits, and reducing student stress. Prior to finding THRIVE, Alyssa wrote a mental health column in her school's student newspaper as well as broadcasting mental health segments on her school's TV station.
- Olivia Erler, Wilmington High School: Project See the Signs is a mental health awareness and suicide prevention program Olivia implemented this year at Wilmington High School. Due to her efforts, Olivia was asked to meet with her district's Behavioral Task Force.
- Claire Kosek, Saugus High School: As President of the Students Demand Action chapter at Saugus High School, Claire expanded the club's mission to include mental health awareness in addition to student safety and decreasing gun violence.
"This was another incredible set of submissions, and it was difficult to select just four winners. The silver lining of the pandemic is that mental health is being discussed and actions are being taken in schools. It has never been more important to support student mental health. This year's essays illustrate that change is happening," said Duncan Young, CEO of Effective School Solutions.
Carli Bushoven, Executive Director of the Madison Holleran Foundation, stated, "Our hope with these scholarships is to bring attention to mental health and wellness to the forefront of high school and college campuses, end the stigma, and ultimately encourage today's students to make strides in their community with regards to mental health."
Since 2009, Effective School Solutions has been a leader in in-school mental health. ESS partners with over one hundred districts across 10 states to provide comprehensive, cost-effective whole-school clinical programs to K-12 students.
The primary mission of the Madison Holleran Foundation is to prevent suicides and to assist those in crisis with resources that will assist them during their time in crisis. The Foundation also focuses on preparing high school seniors for their transition to college.
For more information, press only:
Lisa Murphy-Church, lmurphy-church@effectiveschoolsolutions.com
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