Blue KC and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City Partner to Prioritize Mental Health
Why was winning Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Missouri Youth of the Year award especially meaningful to Zoei, one of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City’s long-time members? She says that it was important because it meant that she could showcase a topic that is close to her heart.
“For me to be named Youth of the Year was very special and new to me,” Zoei said. “The platform that has been provided to me has allowed me to talk about things that matter to me and to people who can support my ideas. I decided to make it about mental health because after experiencing the struggles of it myself, I realized how important it is.”
For 11 years, Zoei has been a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, which offers fun and enriching after-school and summer programs for youth ages 5-18. Thanks to a partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC), staff at the 10 Boys & Girls Club locations in the Kansas City area can use trauma-informed practices to support the mental health of more than 5,000 kids and teens they serve each year. It’s a chance to address the youth mental health crisis following an advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General detailing kids’ declining mental health. According to the National Library of Medicine, more than two out of three children and adolescents in the United States experience trauma by the age of 16. Trauma can include violence, abuse or neglect.
“A big piece of what has come out of our partnership with Blue KC is really creating a space of trauma-informed language,” said Anaya Echols-Spratling, Director of Whole Child Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. “When it comes to language, we help our training team be knowledgeable about what needs to be implemented for youth to feel safe, have youth talk about their own mental health and be peers for each other.”
In 2024, youth from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City were able to shine the spotlight on mental health in Washington D.C. The Club sent a group of teenage girls to a Summit for America’s Youth, where they designed an advocacy project around teen mental health.
“Our partnership with Blue KC really allows our youth to have a voice, and we’re able to support that,” said Samantha Hausker, Director of Education and Post-Secondary Planning at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. “We had a teen mental health night last fall with 40 teens from our organization working on different skills they can use at different times in their lives when they are stressed out.”
One of the ways Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City offers mental health support is through their Chill Zone rooms.
“The main purpose of the Chill Zone rooms is to give our youth a safe space,” said Echols-Spratlin. “They are used to identify what they are feeling at that moment. Maybe something happened on the bus or at home. The environment could be too much for that moment. In the Chill Zone, they’ll learn how to adapt and how can they zone out and still calm themselves in a noisy moment.”
Through safe places, caring mentors and life-enhancing experiences, the Boys & Girls Club, which has been serving Greater Kansas City for more than 100 years, does whatever it takes for youth to reach their full potential. The results show that their work is paying off:
- 93% of Club members expect to graduate from high school
- 79% say they have meaningful connections with adults at the Club
- 83% of Club members report feeling emotionally safe at the Club.
“The Boys & Girls Club has given me a safe environment that has created a space for me to relax and have fun,” said Zoei. “The Club has built me into an independent person who can speak about what’s on their mind. I rely on writing to provide me stress relief.”
With the Boys & Girls Club giving Zoei the tools she needs for her own mental health, she plans to pay it forward by becoming a Clinical Psychologist.
“I pray that I am able to support and coach people through their troubles and mental struggles,” Zoei said. “I hope and dream that I am able to be that safe space for others to come to and seek help.”
