Choose Brave — You Are Not Alone
If your child is in immediate danger: Call 911  ·  24/7 crisis support: Call or text 988  ·  Text HOME to 741741
Choose Brave

Nobody taught you
how to do this.
You are not alone.

Raising a young person through the mental health challenges of today’s world is one of the hardest things a parent, grandparent, or caregiver will ever face — and almost nobody prepares you for it.

BRAVE was created for exactly this moment.

Take the Brave Check-In — free
4 minutes · A clear result · A direction forward
Parents supporting their child
Support
for the whole family
Real guidance
that meets you where you are
Hope
for a stronger tomorrow
You are not alone

The gap between you and your child
feels like it opened overnight.

There was a moment — maybe gradual, maybe sudden — when the child who used to tell you everything stopped. The conversations got shorter. The door stayed closed longer. And you weren't sure if you were overreacting or not reacting enough.

That feeling — of watching from outside your own child's world — is one of the most isolating experiences a parent, grandparent, or caregiver can have. And the hardest part is that nobody prepared you for it. Schools don't teach it. Parenting books don't cover what this actually feels like at 2am when you're scared and you don't know who to call.

BRAVE was built for this exact space. The in-between. Before the crisis. When something feels off and you don't quite know what to do.

Take the Brave Check-In
The door is always closed now
You knock. You get one-word answers. You remember when they couldn't stop talking to you.
Something feels different, but you can't name it
Their mood, their energy, their friends. You're watching and waiting and wondering if you should be more worried than you are.
You're afraid of saying the wrong thing
You want to ask if they're okay. But you don't want to push them away. So you stay quiet. And so do they.
You don't know what help looks like
Therapy? A book? A conversation? Nothing feels quite right, and the resources that exist weren't designed for this in-between stage.
You just want to stay close
Not to fix them. Not to solve it. Just to be someone they still come to when things get hard. That's what BRAVE helps you become.
Understanding your young person

What middle and high schoolers are navigating right now

Young people aged 10–18 are carrying more than any previous generation was expected to carry — and much of it is invisible to the adults who love them most.

Social comparison and identity
Their entire social life plays out on screens that are on 24 hours a day. Who they are, how they look, and whether they belong is constantly being measured — often in silence.
Pressure without a roadmap
School, grades, future, expectations. The pressure young people feel today is real and relentless — and most of them don't have the language to explain how heavy it is.
Anxiety that looks like attitude
Withdrawal, anger, mood swings, exhaustion. What looks like defiance is often a nervous system that doesn't know how to regulate what it's carrying. It's not about you.
The need to belong somewhere
The middle school and high school years are defined by one question: Do I matter? When the answer feels like no, everything else falls.
Keeping things hidden
Young people don't hide things because they don't trust you. They hide things because they don't want to be a burden — or because they don't have the words yet.
Hope, resilience, and capacity
Young people are also remarkable. They are capable of extraordinary growth when they feel safe, connected, and supported by adults who stayed close enough to notice.

None of this means something is wrong with your child. It means something is hard — and that you can help, more than you know. The Brave Check-In shows you exactly how.

How BRAVE helps

Know where your child is.
Know what to do next.

BRAVE uses a simple three-level model — Green, Amber, Red — to give parents, grandparents, and caregivers a clear picture of where their young person is right now, and exactly what the most helpful next step is.

Green — Prevention
Your child appears to be doing well
This is the time to build knowledge, language, and connection — before things change. The families who navigate hard moments best are the ones who prepared when things were okay.
Get Connected Program — May 20th
Amber — Concerns
Something has shifted
Early signals, growing worry, or visible changes in your young person. You don't need to panic, but you do need a plan. BRAVE gives you both — and a community who understands.
Amber Support Tools
Red — Act Now
Safety is a concern
Your young person may need immediate professional support. BRAVE gives you three clear next steps — and you are not meant to face this moment alone. Help is closer than it feels.
Get immediate guidance
Get Connected — Green Level

Get Connected Program

A free, 4-week in-person program for parents, grandparents, and caregivers who want to understand their young person better — and build the knowledge, language, and community to stay close as they grow.

Starting Wednesday, May 20th — 4 consecutive Wednesday evenings
1565 Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Charleston, SC
Small group — 10 to 20 parents, grandparents & caregivers
Completely free — funded by BRAVE
Reserve my spot
1

Understanding Your Young Person Today

What behavior signals. What’s underneath it. Why this generation is different — and what that means for you.

2

The Language of Connection

Practical phrases and conversation tools that open doors instead of closing them.

3

When to Worry — and What to Do

The Green, Amber, Red model applied to your family. Know the signals. Know your response.

4

Building Your Village

You leave with your own next steps, your community, and a plan that fits your family.

Places are limited. This is a small group program by design — real conversation, real community. Register early.
Dawn Lohr
Dawn Lohr
Co-Founder
Kim Lesemann
Kim Lesemann, COTA/L
Co-Founder
Our Story

Born from love, loss, and a calling to change.

Dawn Lohr and Kim Lesemann came to this work the hard way — through the grief of losing their sons, Alex and Jon, and the bewildering experience of trying to find support for their families in the aftermath.

What they found was a system full of gaps. Support that started at crisis. Resources that were hard to find, harder to navigate, and rarely designed with families in mind. And a silence in the in-between — the months before a breaking point — where there was very little for parents who were worried but not yet in emergency.

BRAVE was built to fill that gap. Not as a crisis service — but as the education, connection, and community that helps families stay one step ahead.

“We created what we wish had existed. A place where families find knowledge, connection, and support — before they need it urgently.”

Dawn Lohr & Kim Lesemann, Co-Founders
In memory of Alex and Jon — always with us. Their lives are the reason BRAVE exists.
Choose Brave: Bridging the Gap event
Community Event

Choose Brave: Bridging the Gap

A free outdoor gathering at Charleston, SC Charleston — bringing families, young people, and the wider community together. Yoga, live music, a kids zone, healing practitioners, and real mental health resources. All in one place. All in one day.

Saturday, September 26th, 2026
10am – 2pm
Charleston, SC
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