BRAVE Summit 2025

UF Health St. Johns is pleased to announce that the 5th annual BRAVE Summit is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at The St. Augustine Amphitheatre. The Summit aims to open a dialogue with teens and address the stigma associated with mental health while encouraging teens to learn how to foster mental wellness.

With more than 1,400 attendees last year, we hope to make an even bigger impact on young people this year. This will be a FREE, LIVE event accessible to all high school students across Florida.

The Summit will provide a safe place to talk to other high school students and support professionals about mental health topics while normalizing conversations about mental wellness. Hear from and talk to some of today's most captivating speakers, artists and content creators. Participate in a poetry contest, submit art of your own creation, learn what resources are available in your community to help you cope when things are difficult, identify coping strategies and more.

This year we have some very special guests joining us! We are excited to bring these incredible artists and speakers to Florida for this uplifting and energizing event!

The Summit will provide free local food, prizes, giveaways, a photo booth, interactive games, and more! Did we mention that its free?!
You may be able to get 4 hours of community service for attending the Summit as determined by your school.

*In order to be admitted into the Summit you must have a ticket and a valid high school ID.

Emma Benoit became extremely passionate about suicide prevention after surviving a suicide attempt in 2017, the summer before her senior year in high school. At the time, she was a popular varsity cheerleader with a supportive family and lots of friends, but on the inside, she was filled with depression and anxiety, and had never told a soul about it. Her attempt resulted in a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed but helped her find faith and purpose; and propelled her on a mission to use her painful experience and miraculous recovery to help others.

A few months after her attempt, Emma started the website liferejuvenated.org and a blog to share her story and recovery journey, in an effort to help other teens who are struggling. In early 2018, Emma began working on a documentary film called My Ascension, which is scheduled for release in 2021, that chronicles her recovery journey and advocacy work, while addressing the youth suicide epidemic.

Emma serves as an Ambassador for LivingWorks, the world’s leader in suicide prevention training and in December of 2020, Emma was a featured guest on Jada Pinkett Smith’s hit show “Red Table Talk”; and she has also been featured on numerous other news programs and podcasts.

Check back here for more information about the 2025 BRAVE Summit performers as we get closer to the event!

Host or Publisher UF Health St. Johns Care Connect