EveryDay strong

I am honored to be a presenter for the EveryDay Strong initiative :  Changing lives one home at a time!mn
DonateWe're on a mission to build resilient kids and strong communities.Every year, Utah County middle school and high schoolers are asked:
During the past 12 months, did you ever feel so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing some usual activities?*
The number of children answering yes to this question has almost doubled in the last 6 years. More of our children feel alone and sad than ever before, and could be at risk for clinical depression.
( *This question comes from the Utah County SHARP data. You can learn more about SHARP data here)
If you're like most people, you're wondering, what's the solution? What can I possibly to do help the people around me?Here's a new way to think about it:We all know that a kid who's hungry can't focus on making good grades. 
But kids have other needs that are just as important.  They need to feel safe. They need to feel connected to the people around them. And they need to feel confident in their abilities and skills.
These are the pillars of emotional health.
If your friend was having an asthma attack, you wouldn't say: "what’s causing this?" 
Instead, you'd waste no time in figuring out what her needs are: can she breathe? Does she need to sit down? Then you’d work hard to meet those needs. 
Emotional well-being isn't that different.
When kids' needs to feel safe, connected, and confident are met,they thrive.