A recent Blue Shield of California survey of 750 Gen Z youth found that 94% experience regular mental health challenges
For Alexa, a Southern California teenager who benefitted from in-person school mental health counselors through Wellness Together and Blue Shield of California’s BlueSky youth mental health initiative, those challenges show up every day in the pressure young people face to succeed
“There’s a lot of stress and expectations to live up to, and a widespread sense of anxiety and depression that youth are facing,” she said. “[When an adult] is willing to listen and is accepting of their struggles, it helps young people feel validated and know someone is there to help them.”
That simple but powerful idea — that one caring adult can make a difference — is at the heart of the collaboration between Blue Shield’s BlueSky youth mental health initiative and Wellness Together
In 2019, Wellness Together was a small nonprofit with a big goal: bring mental health services directly to students on campus
“California now has one counselor for every 372 students, an improvement from one counselor for every 500 students in 2023, but still far from the national recommendation of 250-to-1,” said Paula Ambrose, principal of Behavioral Health at Blue Shield of California and program manager for BlueSky. “Our young people need and deserve support. School communities want to provide that support, but they often aren’t equipped to meet the growing need.”
With seed funding from Blue Shield, Wellness Together launched a pilot program in a handful of California school districts, providing students with direct access to mental health professionals at school. The pilot demonstrated that school-based mental health care could work — and be scalable
“It is not a secret around here that Blue Shield has been the main reason we were able to scale,” said Jeremiah Aja, LPCC, licensed therapist, and director of communications at Wellness Together
Jeremiah Aja and Marlon Morgan (CEO) of Wellness Together, Paula Ambrose and Amanda Lasik of Blue Shield of California, and Mental Health Innovator Award recipients at the Wellness Together Conference
The initial BlueSky investment gave school districts an opportunity to see the model in action before committing their own re continued funding the services, and others soon followed
A key strength of the model is accessibility. Students can receive support on campus, regardless of whether they have private insurance or Medi-Cal coverage
“The toughest part, and really the most expensive part, is access to services,” Aja said. “With us being there on campus, [there are] no requirements of insurance or any type of eligibility.”
Since 2019, BlueSky funding has helped drive Wellness Together’s growth by more than 300%. The collaboration has directly supported more than 33,800 individual, family, group, and crisis intervention counseling sessions. Additionally, 88% of youth served are from underrepresented communities, who often face additional barriers to culturally responsive care
The impact extends beyond counseling services, creating spaces for students, educators, mental health professionals, and policymakers to connect and advocate for youth mental health
Blue Shield sponsors Mind Out Loud, Wellness Together’s year-round, youth leadership program and annual virtual mental health event, which reaches more than 10,000 students. The initiative connects young people with mental health resources and equips student leaders to advocate for wellness in their schools and communities. Blue Shield is also the recurring presenting sponsor of the annual Wellness Together Conference, which has grown into a leading international mental health advocacy event, bringing together thousands of educators, district leaders, mental health providers, and policymakers each year.
This year, Blue Shield is also supporting Wellness Together in a new pilot program that will help integrate Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Certified Wellness Coaches into twoSouthern California school districts. Working alongside existing mental health counselors, these coaches provide prevention and early-intervention support, helping address mental health workforce shortages and expand access to care. Their support allows licensed counselors to focus on students with more complex mental health needs.
According to Aja, the impact goes far beyond the numbers. “Parents have said, ‘If it weren’t for Wellness Together, my kid would not be able to receive services. My kid is alive because they had someone who was there.’”
Ambrose agrees. “Collectively, we’ve been through so much over the last seven years,” she said. “Sometimes just one caring adult can change the entire course of a young person’s life. Through the BlueSky and Wellness Together collaboration, thousands more California students now have that person within reach.”
To learn more about Wellness Together, visitWellnessTogether.org
For more on Blue Shield’s BlueSky youth mental health initiative, clickhere
Watch the video below for more from Paula Ambrose, Jeremiah Aja, and Alexa about the impact of BlueSky and Wellness Together’s work
