Youth Council picks mental‑health survey as senior project; plans presentations to city and school boards

The Cape Coral Youth Council voted on July 11, 2025, to make a mental‑health fact‑finding survey its senior project for the 2025–26 term and assigned Member Deborah Johnson (referred to in the meeting as Member Johnson) to head the effort.

Member Johnson presented a proposal to develop and distribute a Google Form questionnaire to participating high schools in Cape Coral to collect data on students’ mental‑health needs, available school resources, and accommodation access. She told the council that the survey would include both closed and open‑ended questions and that participating schools would likely post the form to classroom platforms or distribute it through administrators.

Johnson said proposed recipient schools include Oasis High School, Cape Coral High School, Mariner High School, Ida Baker High School, Island Coast High School and North Fort Myers (listed in the proposal). She said the council’s objective is to compile the responses, produce a presentation, and present findings to the Cape Coral City Council, the Lee County School Board and the charter school board to inform adult decision makers of students’ needs.

The council discussed logistics, timelines and outreach. Johnson proposed drafting questions with council assistance, seeking school permission to distribute the survey (likely in October), and allowing a response window before analyzing results and preparing presentations. Advisor Hayden and city staff recommended adding local health partners (e.g., Lee Health, Collaboratory) to the list of recipients for the presentation and suggested holding a public town‑hall style session for students and families in a future phase.

In a council poll on competing senior proposals, Johnson’s mental‑health survey received six votes and a volunteer‑rotation proposal received four votes. Member Saint Germain moved to adopt the mental‑health project as the senior project; Vice Chair Brown seconded the motion and the motion carried.

The council then moved to appoint Member Johnson as head of the senior project; that motion was made and seconded and carried. Members discussed timing: staff advised that compiling school permissions, finalizing survey text, and scheduling presentations would likely take several weeks to months, with potential presentations running into early 2026 depending on school schedules and response windows.

Next steps: council members will finalize survey questions, coordinate school outreach to obtain permission for distribution, and plan a schedule of presentations to the school boards and city council. Staff offered to arrange contacts at local health organizations to participate in presentations or provide context for findings.