Youth Creating Change for Mental Health

Mental health

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Youth mental health is an area of widespread concern with disproportionate impacts in already under-resourced populations – making improved knowledge and removing barriers to mental health care all the more vital. A 2023 report found that 87% of Gen Z youth face regular mental health challenges, while a recent survey of Los Angeles County secondary students found that 27% would not know what to do if they felt very sad, stressed, lonely, or depressed, while 28% would talk to their friends. This same survey found that 24% reported social emotional distress, 28% experienced chronic sadness and hopelessness, and 12% had considered suicide.This – along with the fact that suicide was the third leading cause of death in those aged 10-24 from 2016-2024 – highlights the need to increase awareness of support resources, prepare youth to recognize and respond to distress, and remove barriers to care such as stigma and lack of knowledge.

The Youth Creating Change for Mental Health program begins by selecting 10 school or CBO implementation sites through an application process open to all schools and CBOs with special outreach to those serving high need and systems-involved youth. After a kickoff meeting, Youth Creating Change delivers mental health and suicide prevention lessons to participating youth. In these lessons, youth learn about mental health, are trained to recognize warning signs of suicide, apply healthy coping techniques, and how to seek help for themselves or a friend. Once a group has received their lessons they apply what they’ve learned to create their own mental health and/or suicide prevention films and art projects, which are later used for peer-to-peer messaging throughout LA County. As a result of the creative process, participants are engaged via all methods of the “learning spectrum” to see, experience, discuss, and apply concepts learned. During this time they also plan and host a youth-led mental health awareness event, at which their projects are showcased. Each group is encouraged to create 5 applied projects and host 1 event. At completion of the program, groups submit a final report and are given a small stipend that can be used to support filmmaking, their awareness event, or other activities that support youth wellness. Implementation sites receive hands-on support throughout the grant period, and are supported with event kits, educational resources, training, and support.

In the short term, the proposed project will improve mental health and suicide prevention literacy while ensuring a greater number of youth are equipped to get support for their mental health and support their peers. When the films youth create for the program are shared with their communities, they spread awareness of mental health resources and reshape perspectives, causing a positive ripple effect by encouraging a culture of help-seeking and supporting the creation of more inclusive spaces where young people from all walks of life can feel connected and thrive. The program will be promoted to all schools in the County, but with emphasis on high need areas and those serving youth at disproportionate risk such as LGBTQ2S and systems-involved youth. The program can be tailored to person and place in order to serve a wide range of populations while facilitating scaling into as many schools and organizations as possible in the long term.

In 2022, our organization partnered with NYU Steinhardt to begin a pilot evaluation of the mini grant program. Researchers from NYU distributed surveys and conducted qualitative interviews. Surveys from students in mini-grant high schools show statistically significant improvements in suicide prevention knowledge, peer support intentions, and engagement in related topics. These findings align with an earlier NORC study that found participating students had greater knowledge, positive attitudes, and supportive behaviors compared to non-participants. Additionally, interviews with students and advisors reveal increased self-efficacy, norm shifts towards open discussions on mental health, and unanticipated benefits like a sense of connectedness and emergence of youth leaders in mental health advocacy. These qualitative insights further validate the program's positive impact and highlight its potential for widespread influence in promoting school mental health.