What is Happy Crew?

The Happy Crew is a Colorado non-profit dedicated to teenagers. Our mission is to destigmatize teen mental health issues and prevent teen suicide.

Happy Crew is an organization created by Amy, Megan and Cole Mays and Paul Kuenne. Our history includes seven summers producing teen battle of the band competitions, a weekly middle school hang out at a local restaurant, and we transitioned to our current Happy Crew concept after 8 teens died by suicide in one school year in Douglas County, Colorado. Suicide is the number one cause of death in Colorado for people aged 10-24. A recent study from Manhattan Mental Health Counseling reveals that Colorado is one of the worst states for youth’s mental health. We aim to change these statistics and impact lives. After the loss of a Lacrosse player at Chaparral High School in 2015, Amy was contacted to speak to the team and help them navigate their devastation, grief, and anguish. Meetings began at Starbucks, quickly moved to a local pizza place, and soon after, moved to Amy’s house. Happy Crew began with 6 students in the spring of 2015 and has grown to over 171 students who attended at least five meetings during the 2023-2024 schoolyear. These original six students determined to make a difference and with one unified voice they spoke: “No more on our watch”. They created Happy Crew, where they met with peers in a relevant, authentic way. They handed out candy bars emblazoned with the words “YOU MATTER.” Through listening, laughing, candy and connection, they started a movement where everyone belongs. Today, Happy Crew hands out stickers in the hall at school, giving crew members a vehicle to reach out and share the message: You matter, you belong!

Each Monday night, students gather for food, conversation, and kinetic learning of mental wellness tools. Playdough creations form the actors in reels about overcoming negative thoughts, haiku poetry focusing on challenging emotions is composed and performed, storyboards create ideas on how to say “no” to victim mentality… kinetic learning allows

the tools to “stick” after a long day in class. Active listening is key to making space for deeper conversations, where thoughts, feelings, success, challenges and failure are

shared without fear of judgement. Happy Crew students are careful to provide strict confidentiality within these groups, and trust is built every meeting. Active listening can lead to vulnerable sharing. If a student is concerned about any sign of depression or suicidal thoughts, an adult is always brought in for help.

Happy Crew is impactful, as one of our leaders, Nathan shares, “"Happy Crew is a place, for me, where I belong and can express my emotions openly without any hesitation, whether I'm at a happy point in my life, or a low point, I always feel like Happy Crew is the place to be, from the awesome community built from a positive environment, everyone who comes to Happy Crew is always so supportive to everyone around them. Also Happy Crew has helped me become more social and less awkward when I am in challenging environments where I don't feel comfortable. I really believe that Happy Crew has strengthened my social mentality in every aspect."

Happy Crew goes BIG on Valentine’s Day, hosting a party with helium balloons filling the house, favorite food and chocolate, valentines that students create for each other, and hoodies are given to every person in attendance. These hoodies have a message written on the lower left sleeve.

One of these read,

Crew = a group of people who have your back. Happy Crew is YOUR CREW.

Kākou = the Hawaiian value of inclusiveness - to speak the language of “we”

meaning “all of us”, and “we are in this together”. You matter, you belong!

Not long after Valentine’s Day, Amy received an early morning phone call. “Amy, I want you to know you saved my life last night. I’ve never experienced such darkness and hopelessness before. Now I understand why teenagers die by suicide. But, I had my hoodie on, and I kept reading and re-reading the words on the sleeve, and I am still here. Thank you.”

It was more than the hoodie of course; it was the community, the belonging, the crew that these students create each week. They desire is to bring more and more friends and other schools into the Crew, but we have outgrown Amy’s house! We’ve got 80 bright orange folding chairs in the garage, and we are pressed to capacity. We have firepits on the deck and around the lawn, so late spring, summer and fall gatherings are held outside. During winter months, we are packed into every space in the house – even meeting in small groups on the stairway! And, 95% of our students are from one high school! We want to grow and expand to offer all 5000 students within 4 miles of Quebec and Lincoln, and the additional 15,000 within 9 miles, access to Happy Crew’s community, giving each of them a place to belong. We need more space! In response to this need, Happy Crew is launching Kākou Coffee House

Unsupported image type. Kākou Coffee House will be a community hub during the day, offering excellent coffee, fine baked goods, free internet, and a welcoming atmosphere where people are invited to “stay awhile’, a place where all are welcome, everyone matters, and everyone belongs. Guitars will hang on the walls for contemplative strumming, an art nook will allow students to create, a computer design suite will be available for creating reels, movies, you tube content and even finishing homework. Happy Crew will meet three nights a week, where students will learn vital mental health and wellness tools, and safe space will be created for students to share their thoughts and challenges, victories and failures with each other in small groups. Thursdays will be student resource focused, staffed with mentors, tutors, and other resources teens request. Friday nights will be filled with open mic nights, small concerts, student produced movies – the ideas are endless! Happy Crew will also offer parent seminars on Saturday morning, focused on teen mental health and wellness, communication tools, and ideas on relating to your teen.

Happy Crew is dedicated to ending teen suicide. Students will have access to professional counselors and mentors who will be in the shop daily from 4:00pm to close. If a teenager sends a text indicating, “I need help now!” they will receive a text back to meet a counselor in the office on site. All staff will be trained on mental health crisis protocols.

The time is now to launch Kākou Coffee House! For more information, visit our websites: thehappycrew.org kakoucoffeehouse.com

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