The Birth of a New Health System
From Quit Trip'n to Social Health Initiative
It began in 2010 as David Kozlowski's response to a brave teenager named Kirsty's vision, which would eventually grow into something far beyond its original scope.
Quit Trip'n, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was revolutionary in its approach to helping teens with mental health struggles by creating a space where teens could be authentic, vulnerable, and supported without the clinical feel of therapy. The power of the groups lay in a simple truth: while you can't prevent life's challenges, having strong, fortified relationships can sustain you through the toughest times. This was reinforced at the end of every group session with a powerful reminder that the group members would repeat: "Depression, anxiety, family drama, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, abuse, addiction, etc. isn't who you are—unfortunately they are things you have to deal with, so thank you for coming to group so you don't have to deal with it alone."
The Birth of Social Health:
A defining moment came in 2011 when group members wrestled with defining exactly what Quit Trip'n was. It wasn't quite a mental health group, yet it helped with mental health. It wasn't a suicide prevention group, but it helped with that too. The group was having this discussion because David Kozlowski, the founder and group facilitator, was applying for this community group to become a non-profit organization and wanted the teens to come up with the name and definition of what these groups do and aim to accomplish. Then one teen had an insight that would shape the future of the way David sees treating people with mental health issues.
She said, "It's obvious us coming here and being social on a raw and real level helps us out more than anything.... So why don't we just call it a social health group, instead of a mental health group?" This simple observation gave birth to the concept of social health. The teens didn't like and rejected the mental health label because they knew they had mental health issues but they also knew that's not who they are, and if they started to identify as being mentally ill, they would be a victim to all the bad or hard things they had gone through and would never feel like they can have a meaningful life.
Kirsty's initial vision led to over a thousand teens getting life-changing and life-saving support. The teens who routinely visited the weekly groups felt mental health treatment and medication, even though helpful in some ways, wasn't the main factor that helped them feel better. Instead, it was a combination of peer, family, and other important relationships, accompanied by them getting better at communicating and building better relationships with the closest and most important people in their lives, that was undeniably the biggest reason why they had all felt better.
A pivotal moment for the evolution of Social Health came in 2017-2018 when the City of Herriman and Herriman High School faced an unprecedented crisis—there were seven student suicides in one calendar year. In response, the school underwent a complete administrative overhaul. The new leadership was given the freedom to take unconventional approaches to prevent these tragedies from ever occurring again. It was during this critical period that Julie Scherzinger, the new vice-principal of Herriman High School, heard David Kozlowski (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in teens and suicide prevention) on the Light The Fight podcast.
David's revolutionary perspective—that the youth mental health crisis was fundamentally a social health issue with serious mental health side effects—resonated deeply with the school's urgent need for change. This insight, combined with the proven success of Quit Trip'n's relationship-based approach, led to the development of a groundbreaking school curriculum launched at Herriman High School in August 2020.
Herriman High School's courageous response to tragedy pointed to a profound truth: the quality of our relationships directly determines the quality of our lives. This understanding became the foundation of the Social Health Initiative (SHI), an organization dedicated to spreading this message and providing tools for building stronger connections across all aspects of life.
Today, SHI carries forward the legacy of these interconnected stories, proving that when we focus on building, maintaining, and improving relationships, we create pathways to better lives for everyone. Through education, real-world examples, and practical guidance, SHI continues to transform lives by fostering the connections that make life worth living.
