BCBSM Foundation Grant Helps MiSide Launch Youth Support Program in Detroit That Pairs Therapy with Structured Social Support
Jake Newby
| 5 min read
Jake Newby is a brand journalist for Blue Cross Blue...
Key Takeaways
- The BCBSM Foundation’s $50,000 Community Health Matching Grant helped launch MiSide’s innovative program combining social support with clinical suicide prevention strategies.
- MiSide’s Youth-Nominated Support Team (YST) connects Detroit youth with trusted adults to strengthen mental health support, reduce isolation and improve engagement in care.
- Youth participants choose trusted adults who receive training and resources to provide encouragement, check-ins and meaningful connections throughout their mental health journey.
- Early results show MiSide’s YST is helping vulnerable youth feel supported, empowered and more connected to their communities.
As rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among Detroit students outpace national averages, MiSide is stepping in to connect vulnerable youth with trusted adults through an innovative support program designed to reduce isolation and strengthen mental health outcomes.
Young people struggling with mental health challenges often turn to drugs or alcohol to cope. MiSide, a Detroit nonprofit that provides a broad range of community, health and economic services, is working to break that pattern through its Youth-Nominated Support Team (YST) intervention, which pairs structured social support from trusted adults with clinical care.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Foundation helped launch the initiative by awarding MiSide with a $50,000 Community Health Matching Grant in July 2025.
“YST is where the youth nominates 3 to 4 trusted adults in their life,” said MiSide YST Integration Coordinator Janice Allen. “Those adults that agree to participate then attend a support-person orientation session where they are provided psychoeducation, become aware of what the youth it working on in therapy and are given resources to support the youth.”
YST is designed to strengthen connections between at-risk youth and supportive adults from their family, school or community in general. It’s a program MiSide supplemented with cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention (CBT-SP) among two pilot study groups. MiSide conducted the small study alongside the University of Michigan (UM) School of Social Work.
“YST is where the youth nominates 3 to 4 trusted adults in their life,” said MiSide YST Integration Coordinator Janice Allen. “Those adults agree to participate, then attend a support-person orientation session where they are provided psychoeducation, become aware of what the youth are working on in therapy and are given resources to support the youth.”
After orientation, the expectation is that each YST member will reach out to one of the young people in the program by phone, through text or in person to check in on them.
“It’s meant to be very specific, dedicated time that is set aside to talk or go out to grab ice cream,” Allen said. “They might have conversations like, ‘how are you doing, how is therapy going? Are you talking to your therapist?’
“The really wonderful part about having the support team is that the youths are, right off the bat, saying they are feeling really supported,” she continued. “And we see them reaching out to members of the support team themselves on occasion, it’s not always the other way around.”
The goal behind marrying YST with CBT-SP is to ensure that MiSide’s intervention isn’t strictly clinical, which can be intimidating for kids. The YST portion of the program provides formal social encouragement and engagement, and lets kids who are already struggling know that someone is in their corner.
Early results show promise as MiSide gets up and running
Prior to the program’s launch, some of the BCBSM Foundation funds were used during to provide both CBT-SP clinician training and YST psychoeducation training.
Then, once the program launched in late 2025, MiSide used remaining funds to help pay to keep the program running, and cover services and interactions between clinicians, UM researchers and members of the YST team that otherwise would not have been billable under MiSide’s insurance plan, Allen said. Allen’s role as YST Integration Coordinator was also funded through the Community Health Matching grant.
“My role is to coordinate services between (UM) and MiSide and to help our clinicians implement YST,” she added.
MiSide’s YST/CBT-SP program is still in the implementation phase, but Allen said she anticipates 14 participants are on track to complete the entire YST model this summer. She added that even some of the kids who did not follow through with treatment still benefitted from the program by interacting with members of the YST and completing surveys provided by UM.
While formal evaluation is still underway, clinicians say the program's impact is already evident.
“Our clinicians are hearing from youth in the program who say, ‘I feel so much more supported now that I have people who are calling me and reaching out to me.’ We have really great engagement from the support team, from teachers, coaches, whoever it may be in these children’s lives that they have nominated.”
Allen said throughout implementation, there have been multiple instances in which YST members have stepped up for kids who haven’t necessarily felt supported at home.
“For example, we have a youth that just really wants to meet in person,” she said. “They are in a single-parent home, a parent who works so hard. Long hours, two jobs. Can’t get the youth to treatment all the time. Virtual is an option, but this youth says, ‘I really want to go in, I really want to be there.’”
Allen said the six members of the YST team basically tripped over each other volunteering to provide in-person connection for this youth.
“All six of them said, ‘I’ll take her, I’ll take her.’ The way the support team shows up for the youth is very heartwarming.”
"MiSide is proving when young people know they have trusted adults in their corner, they are more likely to stay engaged in the care and support they need,” said BCBSM Foundation Senior Program Officer DR. Melissa Boguslawski. “We’re seeing this innovative Youth-Nominated Support Team strengthen those connections and helping Detroit youth feel supported and empowered as they figure out how important strong mental health is to good overall health.”
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation plays an integral role in Blue Cross' commitment to affordability. By funding programs that address maternal health, food insecurity and whole person health, the Foundation ensures underserved communities receive the care and access they need, ultimately reducing costly health complications and enhancing care for all Michiganians. Learn more about our commitment to affordability here. And click here to learn more about the BCBSM Foundation’s Community Health Matching grant program, including eligibility and information on how to apply.
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Photo credit: MiSide
