RE Log Spring 2022

SPRING 2022 Ransom Everglades LOG 17 Continued Growth During the pandemic, as many nonprofits and other agencies faltered, HIP continued to grow. Risa Berrin made her second round of hires in 2020; this time, she expanded HIP’s staff to five, bringing in three people including Cassel, who had earned her master’s in public health from Columbia University. In the aftermath of remote learning, schools seemed to realize the significant toll the pandemic had taken on their students. They looked to Berrin’s programming to help. “One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that everyone has come to realize how important psychological and mental health is for students,” Cassel said. “You can’t think of students as little robots. You have to give them the tools and resources to be healthy.” As HIP added schools, the Berrins noticed something else: Not a single school with which they established a relationship in their 13 years of existence had backed out of the program. Not only were they working with 59 schools in Miami-Dade County (including every public high school), 22 in Broward County, 3 in Pinellas County and 1 in Monroe, but also they also had achieved a 100 percent retention rate. At Ransom Everglades, the HIP program is extremely popular. Every year, more students apply to be PHEs than the program can accommodate. Students wear their HIP T-shirts with pride, and the program is now a mainstay in the school’s curriculum. Ransom Everglades alumni and parents remain huge supporters of HIP. “Ransom Everglades puts a big focus on the academics and different activities, things that are so enriching for the kids, and this is important, also,” Lash said. “What could be more important than the emotional wellbeing of our kids, so that they are in a position to be able to thrive, academically and pursuing their passions and interests?” The Berrins are working to take HIP outside of Florida, certain the model can work anywhere in the nation – or beyond. All they need to expand are a few open doors; they are sure they will find eager kids. “We know a lot of high school principals are looking for HIP,” Risa said. “They just don’t know we exist.” That, of course, is changing. “HIP,” Valerie said, “is a simple solution to a complicated problem.” Risa Berrin ’98

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