Spring 2019
Teens for Healthy Youth at Hilton Head Preparatory School piloted a program called “Wellness Wednesdays” to promote positive teen health at their school. On Wednesdays, students engaged in pet therapy, art therapy, mindful eating, guided meditation, stress relief activities, and were given care packages to encourage positive teen health. THY worked proactively to support students’ health by developing positive peer to peer connections to reduce feeling of loneliness and reduce the risk for teen depression and suicide. THY members placed words of encouragement in private spaces on campus with accompany depression and suicide resources. HHP THY worked proactively with the incoming freshmen class to make healthy choices by utilizing peer-to-peer support with the help of upperclassmen club members. Upcoming freshmen students asked questions to the upperclassmen and received advice from their older peers in an open, candid, and shame free environment. THY at Hilton Head Preparatory School plan to continue Wellness Wednesdays at their school next year, and other THY groups plan to develop similar programs at their own schools next year. THY whose vision is to promote positive teen health is the youth coalition and an initiative of the LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth (LCAHY). LCAHY is a recipient of the Drug Free Communities Grant.