About BeWellATL: Building Mental Wellness Into Our Community

Mental health is an essential part of all of our lives. For young people, it shapes how they learn, grow, build relationships and navigate challenges. We believe that supporting mental health shouldn’t begin only when there is a crisis; it starts with connection, conversation, education and a community prepared to care for one another.

That belief is at the heart of BeWellATL.

BeWellATL is part of BeWell, a national Jewish mental health and well-being initiative launched by the Jewish Federations of North America in 2022 in partnership with the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies. Created in response to the mental health needs of today’s young people, BeWell recognizes the important role Jewish communities can play in supporting young people’s well-being.

Here in Atlanta, BeWellATL is housed at Jewish Family & Career Services and focuses on investing in the well-being of young people while strengthening the families, schools, organizations and other communities around them.

Caring for Our Young People

Jewish communities have a foundational understanding of the responsibility to care for one another. BeWellATL puts that value into practice by helping the people who interact with young people every day feel more prepared to support their mental health.

That can mean helping a parent recognize that their child may be struggling, giving an educator the confidence to start a difficult conversation, or helping a youth professional know what to do when a young person needs more support than they can provide on their own.

The work is about more than crisis response, it’s about creating a community where people have the knowledge and confidence to recognize concerns, talk openly about mental health, and connect young people with help when they need it.

From Training to Real-World Support

BeWellATL brings this approach to life through education, training and partnerships throughout the Atlanta Jewish community.

Schools, parents and JF&CS staff have participated in QPR suicide prevention training, learning how to recognize warning signs, ask directly about suicide, and connect someone experiencing a crisis with appropriate support. So far, [INSERT NUMBER] people have participated in QPR training through BeWellATL, expanding the network of people who are prepared to respond when it matters most.

That network extends into the places where young people spend their time outside of school and home.

This summer, BeWellATL partnered with In the City Camps to train camp counselors to better support campers experiencing mental health challenges. The partnership also recognized an equally important piece of the equation: supporting the counselors themselves. When the adults caring for young people have the tools and support they need, they are better positioned to create a healthy environment for campers.

These partnerships are an important part of BeWellATL’s work, because mental health support doesn’t happen in one place; young people move between families, schools, camps, synagogues and other communities every day. Building awareness and skills across those settings creates more opportunities for a young person to find support.

Investing in the Atlanta Jewish Community

BeWellATL works with schools, synagogues, camps, youth organizations and other community partners to bring mental health education and resources directly into the community.

[INSERT NUMBER] organizations have partnered with BeWellATL, reaching approximately [INSERT NUMBER] young people, parents and community members.

Ultimately, BeWellATL is about investing in the well-being of young people and protecting the health of the community as a whole.

Mental health isn’t something we should talk about only when something goes wrong. It belongs in our families, schools, camps, organizations and everyday conversations.

By making those conversations easier and giving people practical tools to support one another, BeWellATL is helping build an Atlanta Jewish community where young people can feel connected, supported and cared for.

And that’s something we all have a role in creating.