SAY – Social Advocates for Youth is a free, school-based prevention and early intervention program that supports middle and high school students across Greater Cleveland as they navigate the challenges of adolescence. Through strong partnerships with school staff, families, and community organizations, SAY helps young people reduce risky behaviors while building the skills needed to make healthy, positive choices.

Services are provided at no cost to schools or families and include individual and group support, classroom-based prevention education, mediation, brief interventions, and parent education. SAY’s master’s-level social workers and counselors are intentionally embedded within partner school districts, allowing for timely, accessible, and strengths-based support delivered in the environment where students feel most comfortable—at school. Beyond direct services, SAY extends its impact through leadership development and coordinated community partnerships that promote resilience, connection, and long-term well-being for youth and families.

SAY currently supports students in the following school districts:   

• Shaker – High School and Middle School
• Solon – High School and Middle School
• Orange – High School
• Chagrin Falls- High School
• Cleveland Heights and University Heights – Monticello Middle School
• Beachwood – High School

The SAY Coalition extends prevention efforts beyond individual schools and into the broader community. Designed to strengthen families and youth through collaboration and shared expertise, the Coalition brings together schools, parents, young people, health professionals, law enforcement, judicial system partners, business leaders, elected officials, and faith and community organizations.

Through this multidisciplinary approach, the SAY Coalition offers the following programs:

SAY Student Leadership Council

• Open to any high school student interested in developing leadership skills and learning how to make healthy decisions
• Monthly meetings at Bellefaire JCB focused on teen-identified issues, volunteer engagement, and promotion of positive youth development
• Participants earn community service hours

SAY Summer Leadership Institute

• A three-week summer program for students entering grades 9–12
• Participants volunteer throughout the Cleveland area, engage in team-building and leadership development activities, hear from speakers on teen-related topics, and learn to promote positive messages among peers
• Students may earn up to 60 community service hours

SAY Collaborative

• Quarterly meetings for professionals working with youth and families across Northeast Ohio
• Participants share resources, strategies, and best practices to support healthy youth development and strong families
• Provides opportunities for partnership, collaboration, and cross-sector learning

TEAM Alliance is committed to delivering exceptional mental health services that support the entire school community. Our program combines evidence-based counseling with customized prevention strategies to meet the diverse emotional and behavioral needs of students.

At the heart of TEAM Alliance are our clinically trained, licensed professionals, who specialize in working with children and adolescents. These dedicated TEAM Counselors provide a comprehensive range of high-quality services, including:

• Individual Psychotherapy
• Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS)
• Prevention and Early Intervention
• Consultation with School Staff and Caregivers

By embedding counselors directly in the school setting, TEAM Alliance eliminates common barriers to care such as transportation challenges, scheduling conflicts, financial constraints, and loss of instructional time. This model ensures greater accessibility to essential mental health services for students who may otherwise go without support.

Students benefit from:

• Personalized, trauma-informed care
• In-the-moment intervention for emotional or behavioral disruptions during the school day
• Increased advocacy and coordination among school staff, caregivers, and external providers
• Improved social-emotional readiness, helping students thrive both academically and personally

TEAM Alliance fosters a collaborative, strengths-based school culture that promotes resilience, emotional well-being, and long-term student success—setting a new standard in school-based mental health services.

Referrals to TEAM Alliance are coordinated through school sites and can be made by students, parents, guardians or school personnel.  Once referral is made, the TEAM Alliance team will coordinate the intake process to obtain the information necessary to begin service.

Contact Our Admissions Team

The Begun Center for Resiliency was established in 2024 with generous funding from the Semi J. and Ruth W. Begun Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. The Center is dedicated to reducing physical and verbal violence while strengthening resilience through education that builds essential social, emotional, and relational skills proven to support long-term well-being.

The Begun Center delivers innovative, evidence-informed violence prevention education for children, families, and the adults who support them. Grounded in best practices from mental health and prevention science, programs focus on strengthening protective factors such as emotional regulation, problem-solving, empathy, and healthy communication—skills that help young people navigate challenges safely, confidently, and successfully.

The Center’s work is organized around three integrated, high-impact components:

• Direct services for youth: The Begun Center provides developmentally informed programming for preschool and middle school students, focusing on social skills, emotional awareness, and nonviolent conflict resolution. Programming is intentionally designed for two critical developmental stages—early childhood (ages 3–5) and early adolescence (grades 4–8)—when rapid growth and transition create powerful opportunities to promote resilience and prevent future violence. Preschool and middle school programs launched in summer 2025 and are offered in a supportive, camp-like environment that emphasizes connection, skill-building, and positive relationships.

• Training and support for adults: Educators, mental health professionals, and others who work closely with youth receive high-quality training and consultation that equips them with practical tools, shared language, and strategies to reinforce resilience, strengthen relationships, and prevent violence across settings.
• Research and evaluation: The Begun Center is committed to ongoing research and evaluation to assess impact, refine program delivery, and strengthen outcomes. This work supports a long-term goal of developing curricula that are replicable, scalable, and adaptable for use in other communities.

All Begun Center programs are offered at no cost to families and participants. Inclusivity, access, and cultural responsiveness are central to the Center’s mission, ensuring that children, families, and professionals from diverse backgrounds can benefit from this comprehensive, prevention-focused approach.