Mississippi invests $16M in statewide youth mental wellness program; VWSD not included

JACKSON, Miss. (VDN) — Gov. Tate Reeves today announced a $16 million partnership between the Mississippi Development Authority and Canopy Children’s Solutions to deploy Canopy Anywhere, a breakthrough solution for youth mental wellness.

With this rollout, Mississippi will provide a first-of-its-kind mental wellness approach designed for students in grades 6 through 12 that identifies children’s needs in real time.

Canopy Anywhere can be accessed via devices already provided to students in schools, creating an effective, lower-cost method for improving student mental health.

The platform provides:

• evidence-based hope curriculum that strengthens emotional wellness and goal setting
• self-guided digital tools and weekly wellness lessons
• tech-enabled care navigation that connects students and caregivers to real-time support
• resource navigation for families
• clinical screening and assessments when deeper support is needed

“Mississippi has momentum in the classroom, and this new partnership will help keep it that way,” Reeves said. “Our kids deserve the very best education we can give them. Emotional and mental health play a major role in students’ academic success, and that’s why this initiative is so important. This transformative project aligns with the state’s mission to address lingering effects of the pandemic, and it offers an innovative, cost-effective pathway to recovery while building a sustainable model for broader adoption in Mississippi.”

“We are deeply grateful to Gov. Reeves and the Mississippi Development Authority for fueling Canopy Anywhere and prioritizing the mental wellness of Mississippi’s children,” said Canopy Children’s Solutions CEO John D. Damon. “This bold investment honors our 113-year legacy and empowers a more hopeful generation for Mississippi’s future.”

“As the executive director of the state’s top economic development agency, I know the importance of a healthy workforce and quality education,” said MDA Executive Director Bill Cork. “Meeting the academic and emotional needs of our students not only improves quality of life, but it builds on Mississippi’s record of investing in our people to grow the economy.”

Canopy Anywhere was developed to meet urgent and rising needs in children’s mental health. Nationwide, the percentage of adolescents reporting at least one major depressive episode in the past year increased nearly 90 percent, with 3 million having serious thoughts of suicide. About one in three high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.

Canopy Anywhere was initially piloted in select schools of the Madison County School District. In 2024, 143 of the 628 students who participated in the pilot were identified with immediate mental health needs and connected to in-person support.

This project supports 29 public school districts in low- and moderate-income areas, with funding provided by the CDBG-CV Program administered by the state of Mississippi and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The school districts are:

• Biloxi Public
• Claiborne County
• Clarksdale Municipal
• Coahoma County
• Corinth
• East Tallahatchie Consolidated
• Greenville Public
• Greenwood-Leflore Consolidated
• Gulfport
• Hattiesburg Public
• Holmes Consolidated
• Humphreys County
• Jackson Public
• McComb
• Meridian Public
• Natchez-Adams
• North Bolivar Consolidated
• North Panola
• North Tippah
• Quitman County
• South Delta
• Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated
• Sunflower County Consolidated
• Tunica County
• West Bolivar Consolidated
• West Tallahatchie
• Wilkinson County
• Winona-Montgomery Consolidated
• Yazoo City Municipal