Empowering Youth to Advance Mental Health
At the heart of HEADSTRONG is the belief that young people are leaders who bring unmatched passion, courage, and empathy to address mental health. They are uniquely positioned to influence their peers, challenge stigma, and inspire action.
HEADSTRONG is igniting a grassroots movement empowering youth to advance mental health - right where they live.
We equip young changemakers to inspire their peers, challenge stigma, and create lasting impact in their schools and communities.
With HEADSTRONG, every young person can Be Brave, Reach Out and Speak Up for mental wellness!
Our Impact
Summits
empowering
Youth Leaders
across
Schools
to impact
Reach
HEADSTRONG’s Two-Part Leadership Model
The Headstrong Summit
Youth come together for experiential learning in virtual or in-person event, where they participate in activities, hear inspiring stories of recovery, and create a plan for positive action.
Outcomes
- Empower Youth Leaders with
- Information
- Connections
- An actionable plan to take back to their community
Post-Summit Action
Youth Leaders return to their schools and communities to implement mental health awareness campaigns. Their activities, ranging from small displays to full-school presentations, keep mental health in focus throughout the year, shifting attitudes and behaviors.
Outcomes
- Turn planning into action
- Local, grassroots initiatives in schools, lead by youth for youth.
Ways You can Connect with Headstrong
Bring Headstrong to your community
Bring Headstrong to your community
Join our community of delivery partners
Join our community of delivery partners
Support Headstrong
Be a Headstrong Supporter
See how our youth leaders and delivery partners are making a difference
Meet Morgan
A youth who participated in HEADSTRONG
Meet Dan
A program delivery partner making things possible in Burlington
Meet Angela
An education leader implementing HEADSTRONG in Ontario.
Have a look at our other training programs to support youth mental health
The Inquiring Mind
The Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary (TIM PS) is an evidence-based program designed to address and promote mental health and reduce the stigma of mental illness in an educational or student setting.
MHFA: Supporting Youth
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Supporting Youth is designed for members of the public who have frequent contact with young people (ages 12 to 24), for example, parents and guardians, school staff, sports coaches, and youth workers.
FAQs
HEADSTRONG is fully evidence-based with a decade of experience working with youth and communities across Canada. The program is designed to be engaging, relevant and effective, and flexible for diverse populations and communities. HEADSTRONG empowers and inspires youth to be active and proactive for their own and their community’s mental wellness. The program is trusted by schools and youth organizations across Canada.
12-19 years
There are two models available. The in-person summit is a one-day event where groups of youth from regional schools gather in a central venue. The virtual summit is provided live into classrooms through three 90-minute modules delivered during one week. Both summit models are available in English and French.Â
The summit is focused on engaging youth to:
- have a better understanding of their own and other’s mental wellnessÂ
- be aware of resources for support and the importance of timely help-seekingÂ
- recognize the impacts of and know how to challenge stigma around mental health and mental illnessÂ
- understand the steps to recovery and increased resilienceÂ
- use their power and influence to inspire brave conversations through youth-led positive social action. Â
HEADSTRONG provides all the support and tools needed to deliver a youth summit, including comprehensive guides, regular meetings, and provision of training for lived-experience presenters, emcees, and activity facilitators. Partial or full funding may also be offered depending on resources.Â
Support and a small team to plan and deliver the summit, access to funds or ability to raise funds to provide the summit if needed.Â
In-person summits: 8-15 youth per school is a good number to attend. There’s no ‘ideal’ number of schools, it depends on the venue and how many schools are within travelling distance. The average number for a summit is around 120 youth. Â
Virtual summits: between 4 and 8 schools/ youth groups attend with 1-2 classrooms/ sites per venue to a maximum of 8 sites. There’s no limit to the amount of youth joining from each site. Â
Youth can be selected by a teacher/ group leader, or may self-select to attend. Youth who may engage with the program are those interested in leadership, psychology, and/ or those with a personal or family experience of mental health problems or illness who need to hear about recovery and hope.Â
In-person summits need 3-4 months planning time. Virtual summits take 5-6 weeks to plan.Â
– HEADSTRONG can provide limited funding for some summits each year. Communities can raise additional funds to support the event or raise the full funds and take advantage of the tools, resources and training provided by the HEADSTRONG team.Â
Educators, youth and/ or health focused community agencies, youth, community leaders, parent groups, public service organizations etc.Â
Submit an Expression of Interest form (link). There are two review periods annually, in Spring for summits Sept-Dec, and in Fall for summits Jan-May.Â
At this time, HEADSTRONG provides around 25 summits annually across Canada. If there are more EoIs than there are available places, a scoring rubric is used to highlight summits that are from priority populations, and exhibit readiness to deliver the program. Priority populations include for example rural, remote, Indigenous, newcomer, racialized, minority language and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Â
HEADSTRONG can fully fund up to 5 virtual summits and partially fund up to 15 in-person summits annually. At current capacity, a maximum 8 community-funded summits can be accepted annually in addition. Â
Virtual summits cost $2000 for up to 8 classrooms/ sites. There’s no limit to the number of youth per room/site. All sites need to attend all three modules. Â
In-person summits cost around $5-6000 for 100 youth, but can be more or less expensive depending on costs of venue, food and level of donated items etc. Â
For multiple in-person and/or virtual summits in a region, please review the information on becoming a Delivery Partner.
Email your questions to headstrong@openingminds.orgÂ
