Building Better Selves

Mental health

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Youth today face numerous social, developmental, and academic pressures, such as low self-confidence, confusion about self, impulsive behavior, involvement in drugs and alcohol, and issues related to intimacy and relationships. Schools often do not offer courses on coping with stress and decision-making, and adolescents’ needs for such skills are continuing to grow (Rathus & Miller, 2015).
Locally, the proportion of local teens reporting needing emotional or mental health support has trended higher over the last decade, with 31% now requiring such support, but only 14% reporting receiving care (Community Health Needs Assessment Greater Pasadena, 2022). BGCP has seen a steep increase in social-emotional needs in Club members since the start of the pandemic, and in 2022, nearly 10% of Club teens experienced severe mental health episodes involving self-harm or violence requiring the involvement of law enforcement or hospitalization.

This grant will support BGCP’s life skills and wellness programs under the umbrella of “Building Better Selves.” These programs address the increasing social-emotional needs of Club members.
1. Life Skills Groups for teen members are based on the fundamentals of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness practices, an innovative, evidence-based approach developed by licensed mental health professionals. MFT trainees and Club staff facilitate a series of small group modules over an entire school year.
An example of success is Jesse, 14, who says that since participating in Life Skills, he “feels more confident, less shy, and more respected.” He also says that the skills he has learned have helped him self-advocate with his parents and at school.
2. Family Advocacy is a case management service for at-risk members, through which youth work individually with a case manager weekly toward personal and academic goals. This program has served 25 of BGCP’s highest-risk youth since 2022, and BGCP plans to expand Family Advocacy to serve 50 members over the next year.
3. “Meta-Moment” is an evidence-based approach to building social-emotional skills in young people, developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and adapted for use by Boys & Girls Clubs. Meta-Moment helps members handle strong emotions so they can make better decisions for themselves and their community. This program presents methods that help youth and staff recognize emotions in themselves and others.

BGCP’s vision of success is to continue providing all members with Building Better Selves programs, and to increase this number by 100 in the next 12 months. Objectives for members include demonstrated life skills acquisition and improvement in levels of self-confidence and self-efficacy.
It is proven that when kids are introduced to mental health conversations at a younger age, their chance of developing a severe mental health disorder decreases. BGCP’s programs will position members to successfully manage issues in their lives, develop healthier relationships, be more productive, and have an overall higher quality of life, now and in the future.
BGCP aims to give members the skills to cope with issues they are facing, graduate high school, attend post-secondary education, and lead successful lives. BGCP anticipates members will share their new-found skills with family members, which, in turn, will increase the health of the Los Angeles community.

BGCP is already seeing promising results from these programs. In 2023, the Club saw a 17% increase in members (3rd–5th grade) who know how to regulate their emotions, and a 9% increase in members (6th-7th grade) who have healthy strategies they can use when feeling stressed.
These programs are evaluated using a variety of measures, including the annual National Youth Outcomes Initiative (NYOI) survey of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. This survey is integral to gauge gains in members’ abilities to regulate emotions, build relationships, and manage stress, among other skills. The Club works to achieve year-over-year progress in these areas:
- Decrease in number of behavior incident reports at the Club among 10–18-year-old members. - Decrease in number of behavior/mental health-related incidents reported to the Club occurring at school, home, etc. - Increase in Club members’ acquisition of life skills, as observed by staff members.