Youth Mental Health
Youth Forward is working to increase access to culturally-grounded mental health services for youth of color and vulnerable youth through advocating for the expansion of peer to peer approaches. We are working with the Sacramento County Office of Education, citiesRISE and with the Center at Sierra Health Foundation to develop a training series on mental health for youth development organizations. We believe that we need to expand mental health beyond a traditional medical model to include prevention, healing, arts and music and peer to peer supports. Some of these trainings are currently posted on our YouTube channel.
In late 2019, Youth Forward began a process of convening a group of primarily Black youth and young adults to develop an understanding of how Black youth and youth of color support their own mental wellness and that of their peers, and the role that schools play in supporting (or not supporting) mental wellness. We collaborated with some outstanding organizations in this process, including BMAD (Blacks Making a Difference), IQ Squad, the Race and Gender Equity Project, NAMI Sacramento, AES and the Gender Health Center. Over a period of several months, we developed a proposal based on this conversation on how schools could better support the mental wellness of youth of color and marginalized youth. We are currently bringing this proposal forward to school and youth policymakers in our region.
In late 2019, Youth Forward began a process of convening a group of primarily Black youth and young adults to develop an understanding of how Black youth and youth of color support their own mental wellness and that of their peers, and the role that schools play in supporting (or not supporting) mental wellness. We collaborated with some outstanding organizations in this process, including BMAD (Blacks Making a Difference), IQ Squad, the Race and Gender Equity Project, NAMI Sacramento, AES and the Gender Health Center. Over a period of several months, we developed a proposal based on this conversation on how schools could better support the mental wellness of youth of color and marginalized youth. We are currently bringing this proposal forward to school and youth policymakers in our region.