UF Health St. Johns' BRAVE Program Continues to Widen Teen Access to Mental Health Services

Be Resilient and Voice Emotions (BRAVE) works to break down the stigmas associated with seeking assistance for mental health, eliminates barriers to receiving support and ensures that families have access to the services they need to thrive.

A program of UF Health St. Johns, BRAVE helps bridge the gap between students in need of mental health services, particularly when they’re coming from their community school district, to receive those services. BRAVE offers multiple resources for families in need, including care coordination and navigation services, access to virtual mental health counseling visits and a 24-hour crisis text line.

This completely free, state-funded program has a goal to be in every school district throughout the state of Florida. The funding is allocated from the Florida State Senate bill 7030, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School bill. With this funding, the BRAVE program is 100% free to the staff, administrators, students and their families.

Since its founding and despite the pandemic, BRAVE has expanded and now serves more than 217,000 in seven school districts including Clay, Columbia, Okaloosa, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.

Launched by UF Health St. Johns Care Connect in 2019 in partnership with the St. Johns County School District and with support from THE PLAYERS, the program has already made significant progress. Prior to BRAVE’s implementation, only 35% of students who were referred to mental health providers were actually seen by a medical professional. With the BRAVE program, that rate has increased to 93%. The program also makes it possible for these students to connect to a BRAVE navigator in less than 24 hours.

In addition to providing accessible mental health services, the program also hosts its annual BRAVE Summit for high school students to further break down stigmas and normalize conversations about mental health. At this year’s free event hosted by UF Health St. Johns, nearly 2,000 high school students from 21 school districts across Florida attended the 4^th annual event at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. Students were able to hear powerful stories from nationally-recognized speakers, participate in a panel discussion held by Youth Mental Health America and attend musical performances, among other activities, making the BRAVE Summit an event that students enjoy attending each year.

UF Health St. Johns is committed to creating healthier communities—both physically and mentally. BRAVE is making differences in the communities it serves by equipping people with opportunities to access mental health tools and resources while breaking down stigmas.