Student Connectedness

Project Safety Net is a community-based organization with a mission to develop and implement an effective, comprehensive, community-based mental health plan for overall youth well being in Palo Alto.

The plan includes education, prevention and intervention strategies that together provide a safety net for youth and teens in Palo Alto and defines our community’s teen suicide prevention efforts. Palo Alto Unified School Districts goals of improving student connectedness and strengthening support systems for student social, emotional, and physical health are aligned with PSN.

Through education, prevention and intervention strategies, and a strong partnership, PAUSD, PSN, and the larger community work to provide a safety net for youth and teens in Palo Alto.

Developmental Assets are defined as the positive values, relationships and experiences that help youth and teens succeed and thrive. The Developmental Assets framework identifies 41 essential elements for supporting the health, resiliency, and overall well-being of youth within their communities. Research shows a significant correlation between higher number of assets and positive indicators, such as school performance and resiliency, and lower numbers of assets and increased risk-taking behaviors such as drug and alcohol use. The framework has been adopted by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the City, YMCA, Youth Community Services and many other youth-serving agencies. You can find more information about the Developmental Assets at Project Cornerstone.

The Developmental Assets provide a common vision and language for youth and teen well-being. Research done by the Search Institute has confirmed that the more of these assets kids have, the better they do in school and life. But kids cannot develop the assets on their own; many of these relationships and experiences depend on interactions and opportunities in the community surrounding our youth.