The HOPEful Drive and Gen Z
We have just completed our 1st Annual HOPEfull Drive! The teens of today (Gen Z for reference) are an amazing group of people. Passionate about their causes and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.
Over the course of three weeks our teen’s activism (154 students from 21 middle and high schools) reached over a million people via 1:1 conversations, radio, television & print, and they raised over $24,000. That money is earmarked to help fund new HOPEgroups across Colorado and the country.
What are HOPEgroups? They are small teen lead groups that provide support and a safe place for kids to share their struggles and talk openly with each other about their mental health. We think they are a large part of the solution to the current public health crisis facing our teens and we hope to have 10,000 chapters across the US in the next decade.
Teen developed, teen lead, empowered by support from adults. Locally controlled and operated to meet local needs. That is the spirit of a HOPEgroup. We currently have two active HOPEgroups (Golden, CO & Palmer Lake, CO) with interest and planning in a dozen more cities across 5 states. It is the beginning of a movement that will change the tone of the conversation.
If you are interested in starting a HOPEgroup in your community check out our Start a HOPEgroup page.
As exciting as that is, the story has a more serious tone. The Gen Z youth have pressures being placed on them that are unlike anything in modern history.
Did you know that this generation has never known a communication mechanism other than a modern smartphone? A little device that has 120 million times more computing power than the computers used in the Apollo missions. Wired 24/7 with snippets of news in a time where public violence is at an all time high.
A generation that has lived with School Lock Down exercises since they were in kindergarten, hiding in closets, learning to protect themselves.
Today’s Gen Z mental health statistics are staggering:
- 1 in 3 youth profess to feel sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row. Source: 2017 Health Kids Colorado Survey
- 7.4% of youth nationally have attempted suicide in the past 12 months. Source: 2017 Health Kids Colorado Survey
- The suicide rate for teens ages 10-19 increased by 56% between 2007 and 2016. Source: CDC
Our teens hold the answers to what help looks like. We need to empower them to speak out, listen to what they have to say, and enable them to take action.
Statistics for the entire population, not just teens
Read more about Gen Z in Huffington Post’s 8 Key Differences between Gen Z and Millennials >
