The inaugural cohort of YPI began in August of 2005 as a new experiment to see what happens when a group of teens come together to identify and address a problem facing teens that they feel is not being addressed. For everyone involved in YPI, this was a new journey that did not come with a road map.
Cohort 1 spent the majority of their first year identifying their issue. Ultimately, they reached consensus on Adolescent Depression. They all knew somebody who suffered from depression, and several YPI members had personal histories with it. What they didn’t know is what they, as teens, could do about the issue.
After conducting research they came across a program developed at Johns Hopkins University, by Dr. Karen Swartz, called the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program, or ADAP. The students scheduled a video conference with Dr. Swartz and her team to learn about the program. ADAP was tested within youth populations in the Baltimore area and demonstrated increased awareness of the nature of depression, indicators of depression and available treatments. Dr. Swartz was interested in testing the program in a different population.
As a result of this first meeting, a partnership was created whereby the YPI students would be allowed to promote ADAP in Tulsa-area schools if they also agreed to provide research on its effectiveness. The students then created a partnership with the University of Tulsa School of Medicine to provide in-class instruction as well as pre and post test scores to Dr. Swartz.
In the first year ADAP was piloted in six local schools to great success. Over successive years the program has expanded in Tulsa. ADAP is a three-session program that was originally meant to be taught by health professionals. As the program evolved is now taught by classroom teachers after they receive training. Currently, ADAP has expanded and is being used by other communities in addition to Baltimore and Tulsa. In Tulsa, ADAP has been adopted by the University of Oklahoma—Tulsa and is run through their Center for Community Engagement.
