Let’s put the film to work for the good of kids, schools and communities. Join our impact campaign.
The ULTIMATE CITIZENS Impact Campaign highlights the crucial role schools – and school counselors – play in supporting children and families. School counselors provide safe spaces, mental health support, coping skills, and resources that empower children to overcome adversity and thrive.
Why now? It’s a crisis, but you can help.
The U.S. is in the midst of a youth mental health crisis at a time when there’s a dire shortage of school counselors and other support workers in public schools. Challenges faced by kids and their schools include trauma, behavioral health difficulties, and food and housing insecurity. Language and cultural barriers can further burden children from immigrant families. School counselors fall too low on the list of funding priorities, and the public lacks awareness of the work they do linking homes, schools and communities to prevent crises. Together, we can help change that.
In a series of nationwide screenings, dialogues, and creative events, we’ll use the unique intersection of community, counseling, sports and immigrant youth in ULTIMATE CITIZENS to explore how to make schools more healthy and welcoming for ALL.
By the Numbers:
- In 2023, more than 5.3 million youth ages 12-17 years (20.3 percent) had a current, diagnosed mental or behavioral health condition.
- Between 2016 and 2023, the prevalence of diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions among youth increased 35 percent.
- Among adolescents with a current diagnosis who needed treatment or counseling, 61 percent had difficulty getting needed treatment in 2023, a 35 percent increase since 2018, with a notable rise after 2020.
Our partners in this work are Oley, PA-based Bullfrog Films, the leading and oldest distributor of social and environmental documentaries for education in the U.S., and Boston-based impact agency, Twin Seas Media.
