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The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Project Safety Net reaches out to students

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As part of its plan to ensure teen well-being, Project Safety Net will survey Paly students regarding how they feel about their lives and in the community on Thursday, Oct. 7. – Kyle LiuPalo Alto High School students who have signed a permission slip will take a survey on Oct. 7 regarding their attitudes and behaviors surrounding the community to supplement teen health research, according to Amy Drolette, the Palo Alto Unified School District coordinator of student services.

“The survey will consist of 160 questions about school [and] about you,” Drolette said. “The answers on the questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential.”

According to Greg Hermann, a City of Palo Alto management specialist, the students’ attitudes and behaviors surveyed are known as the “41 developmental assets.” They are a series of community-based experiences which have been defined, through research, by the Search Institute of Minneapolis, Minn. as key elements for the growth of healthy young adults.

The organization conducting the survey is Project Safety Net, a Palo Alto-based community task force created to ensure the mental and overall well-being of youth. The community-funded organization decided to conduct the survey after adopting the 41 developmental assets under Project Cornerstone, a similar teen-health organization of Santa Clara County. PAUSD is only one of two school districts in the Bay Area participating in the survey.

The survey results will identify which of the 41 essential elements for supporting youth in our community we’re strong in, and which ones we still need to improve, Hermann said.

“The survey provides a benchmark for our community,” Hermann said. “The idea is to have every adult and teen be an asset builder. It gives us a unified framework.”

In addition to the survey, Project Safety Net is implementing 22 different programs which fall under the sections of education, prevention and intervention — all based on the theme of teen health. Several of its programs have already attracted attention such as Track Watch, a volunteer-driven, suicide-prevention program, and Gatekeeper Training for adult advisors of teen organizations.

De Geus suggests that students participate in this year’s Youth Forum, a series of workshops designed to bring students and adults together in an honest and open dialogue. They were a great success last year and has already sparked many new community initiatives, he added.

The best thing that we can all do is to be there for one another, De Geus said.

“Be there for your peers, if you see someone in distress reach out to the individual or caring adult,” De Geus emphasized. “Be vigilant and look out for one another.”

“There is a significant stigma around mental health, which is a big problem,” De Geus continued. “We should all be much more open to talking about our mental health so that when we or someone we know stumbles and struggles, it is the norm to seek help.”

Project Safety Net will hold a panel presentation about developmental assets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 25 Churchill Ave. Assets 101 will take place 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, in the Ballroom at the Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road. The Palo Alto Champion Training Series will begin 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the Palo Alto Family YMCA , 3412 Ross Road, and there is a $10 cost per participant for workbook. RSVP is required by contacting Anne Ehresman, executive director, Project Cornerstone at [email protected] or (408) 351-6424.

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