Last fall, we announced the launch of our new Youth Mental Health Grants & Learning Cohort, a community-driven initiative designed to help address the youth mental health crisis with an upstream and trauma-informed approach that compliments the progress and work that others are doing in this space. Read the announcement here.

Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the 13 youth-serving nonprofits selected for this cohort. These organizations are already working with youth and making a difference in our communities. Through this cohort, they will deepen their impact, share best practices, and build stronger networks to support youth mental health and well-being across our region.  

Strengthening Connections Among Youth-Serving Nonprofits

While these organizations are deeply experienced in youth services, our initial survey revealed an opportunity: most participants knew of only four other youth-serving organizations in the cohort. Now, through regular virtual sessions and in-person gatherings, these organizations are building relationships, sharing expertise, and creating a more connected support system for youth across Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties.

Meet the Grantees

The selected organizations represent the rich variety of youth programs across the South Sound. Their work ranges from essential basic needs to offering enrichment opportunities like outdoor education and dance programs. This range of services reflects what we know about youth well-being: young people need both stable foundations and opportunities to grow and thrive.

• Cispus Learning Center (Lewis): Supports a unique northwest outdoor learning environment for K-12 students year-round for environmental and leadership education.
• Community Youth Services (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Offers a comprehensive network of over 20 trauma-informed, youth-led, and evidence-based programs, including emergency shelter, stable housing, family reconnection, foster care, and behavioral health support.
• GRuB (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Provides opportunities for people to learn, lead, and thrive through programs like the GRuB Garden Project, Veteran Programming, Wild Foods and Medicine, and Youth Programs.
• HeartStrides Therapeutic Horsemanship (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Utilizes Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) to address mental health and substance use challenges through programs like the Equine Assisted Peer Support Youth Program and Operation THRIVE.
• Mason County Climate Justice (Mason): Builds community food forests, teaches workshops, and supports youth leadership development in civic engagement, focusing on climate solutions and mental health impacts of climate change.
• Mason County HOST (Mason): Supports unaccompanied unhoused youth aged 16-21 with housing, education, and life skills training. Services include HOST homes, mentoring, stipends, tutoring, college planning, financial management, and advocacy. The program prioritizes youth in the criminal justice system and BIPOC youth while addressing mental health and systemic change.
• Mockingbird Society (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Transforms the foster care system and ends youth homelessness through youth programs, public policy and advocacy, and the MOCKINGBIRD FAMILY™ model.
• NAMI Thurston-Mason (Mason and Thurston): Provides support, education, and advocacy for individuals and families affected by mental illness through programs like NAMI Ending the Silence, which educates middle and high school students about mental health.
• Our Ark (Thurston): Empowers homeless and at-risk young adults aged 18-25 through housing support, life skills development, mental health and wellness programs, career and educational support, and street outreach.
• South Sound Dance Access (Thurston): Offers free and low-cost dance and movement programs for all ages, focusing on Brain-Compatible Dance Education to support physical and mental health.
• Wild Grief (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Facilitates peer groups for children, teens, and families grieving a death, using nature as a healing tool through day hikes, backpacking, and camping trips.
• Wolf Haven (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Provides transformative learning opportunities through environmental education programs centered around their wolf sanctuary and native prairie, promoting environmental stewardship.
• YWCA of Olympia (Lewis, Mason, and Thurston): Empowers marginalized youth, particularly LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC teens, through programs like Change Your World Camp, Youth Action Circle, and Pride Camp, focusing on social justice, art exploration, and leadership development.

We invite you to learn more about each organization’s workand services by clicking on their organization name, visiting their website,and connecting with their team.

For those interested in supporting this initiative, we invite you to consider donating to the Youth Mental Health and Well-being Fund.