Equity in Mental Health Pilot Cohort

The Equity in Mental Health Framework (EMHF) was launched in late 2017 by The Jed Foundation (JED) and The Steve Fund. Following the launch, the team developed and delivered a pilot implementation of the EMHF with 18 schools around the U.S.

During summer 2019, schools submitted at least three goals to meet the needs of their respective school communities. JED and The Steve Fund helped the pilot cohort schools refine their goals to ensure they were specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. The Steve Fund provided technical assistance to support school stakeholders examine issues and topics, and promote customized learning about the changes necessary to fulfill each school’s goals.

During midpoint evaluation meetings with all cohort schools in winter 2019, schools reported positive progress toward meeting their goals. Many took advantage of their JED Campus collaborations and added their diversity and inclusion offices and student leaders to their efforts.

Click on the logos below to learn more about our pilot schools:

Read the testimonials below to see what some students and teachers had to say:

“I’m talking about people who genuinely look after you. I’m talking about teachers who go out their way for you and they don’t have to. I’m talking about other teachers who outside their office hours come meet with you, other teachers who would become your models or your mom and dad away from home.”

“When I first visited a year ago, the community atmosphere and the vibe I got from literally every single person I met - staff and students - it was just really welcoming. It made me feel like this could be somewhere where I would want to spend four years. Also, I was in a completely new and different environment. A lot of people from here or that go here have skied and hiked and camped. I’ve never done that but I’m open to it or at least open to hearing about it. So, it was just a way to get me out of my comfort zone, but also in a way in which I’m still around people that I feel I would be supported in a good community.”

“Stress is I think the most mental health issue we have around here. When I first came here, I got pretty stressed out. I let it get to me, especially being so far away from home and not being able to talk to them all the time. But the resources that we do have here at school help you a lot. They’re so welcoming. You can go to them any time and they’ll sit there and talk to you. They’re not going to be like, oh, I have this thing, you come back later. They’re always there to talk to you. If they do have a meeting to go to or that they have to go to, they’ll tell you like, hey, this person’s here they can talk to you, let me bring you to them.”

"I believe that one of the most significant goals that we are about to achieve - implicit bias training for the campus community - will have an impact on the dialogue moving forward and may help us reset some institutional priorities. We also look forward to advancing our work with students by integrating work on cultural competency into our student organizations with the help of student leadership."

Alabama State University

California Polytechnic State University

College of Saint Rose

Colorado College

Emerson College

Kalamazoo College

Montclair State University

Northeastern Junior College

Pennsylvania College of Technology

San Jose City College

Sewanee: University of the South

Truckee Meadows Community College

University of Michigan - Dearborn

University of North Carolina: School of the Arts

University of Southern California

University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Western Michigan University

Winona State University

Read the testimonials below to see what some students and teachers had to say: