OPINION

systemic oppression interacts with mental health and the tools needed to address the inequities in our healthcare system, they are unlikely to help the youth and young adults who are most in need of mental health services.

As peers, caregivers, relatives, friends and community members, these statistics may leave you wondering: What can we do?

One solution often ignored by adults in positions of authority and power is to listen to and support the inherent wisdom of youth and young adults.

Gen Z is in a better place than even Millennials in terms of their openness to talking about mental health, but it is still seen as scary and taboo. In our own community we can see examples of young adults creating spaces to talk about their experiences with mental health on their own terms, through community-centered programs that raise awareness and build connections. Creativity Alive’s SEEN collaboration, a high-school led, mental health-focused arts project will open at Ozo on East Pearl this Friday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m.

On Saturday, April 8, Project Kind, led by one of the authors (CU senior Evangelyne Eliason), will be raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention through a 5K run/walk/roll (11 a.m.) and an open mic night/talent showcase (6 p.m.; register here: bit.ly/ProjectKind). The 5K event is open to the entire community and is intended to encourage everyone to practice getting outside, moving around and taking care of themselves, all things that are especially hard to do when people are experiencing mental health struggles. The open mic night/talent showcase is also open to the public (and local singers, poets and performers) and is intended to help people find a way to process and express their experiences with mental health through different art forms.

We often think of the experience of mental illness and the treatment of mental health problems at the level of individuals, but the inherent wisdom of youth-led and youthcentered efforts is in their recognition that a crisis arising from increasingly challenging societal problems needs solutions that are grounded in community.

We hope you will show up to support these youth-led activities and those that will follow. We hope you will also support groups in the community that are youth- and young adult-led and communitycentered, such as Natural Highs, the Center for African and AfricanAmerican Studies, and Out Boulder County’s youth programs. Our youth and young adults need more from our community than simply allocating money to behavioral health services that help them cope with the existential threats prior generations created. They need our solidarity, and our support for their solutions.

Ms. Evangelyne Eliason is a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder majoring in Psychology and minoring in Political Science & Sociology who researches healing among marginalized youth for the Voice of Healing project at the Renee Crown Wellness Institute and is the organizer of Project Kind. Dr. Nicole Speer is a Director of Research Services for the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado Boulder and a member of Boulder City Council. She has studied and published research on college student mental health. Both authors are writing in their personal capacities, and encourage readers to get comfortable asking the people in their lives some version of two critical questions in suicide prevention

(“Have you thought about hurting yourself?” and “Do you have a plan?”), as well as to know that 988 is the number to call to reach the 24/7 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

April 12–14, 2023

Big ideas. Endless discoveries. Celebrating 75 years.

Dynamic, challenging discussions on climate change. 25+ sessions, more than 80 speakers.

Wednesday, April 12

Ebert Interruptus, noon–2 p.m.

75th Anniversary Program and conference keynote featuring James Balog, 3–5 p.m.

75th Anniversary Gala, 6–9 p.m.

Thursday, April 13

Greenwashing? Can I Trust an Organization’s Climate Claims?, 9:30–10:40 a.m.

Communication Strategies to Motivate Climate Action, 9:30–10:40 a.m.

Human Rights and Climate Justice: A Forward Path Through Activism, 9:30–10:40 a.m.

Inspired by a Changing Planet: Creating and Curating Art, 9:30–10:40 a.m.

Surviving the Elements: Climate Impacts on Winter Sports, Travel and Dining, 11 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

How Climate Change Impacts National Security, 11 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

Green Jobs and Careers, 11 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

Reshaping Education, 12:30–1:40 p.m.

Incentives and Barriers to Scaling New Technologies, 2–3:10 p.m.

Food for the Future, 2–3:10 p.m.

Adapting to Climate Change, 2–3:10 p.m.

Protecting Our Planet and Our Health, 2–3:10 p.m.

Can—and Should—Journalism Be a Part of the Solution to the Climate Crisis?, 3:30–4:40 p.m.

Sustainable Cities: Urban Design for a Green Future, 3:30–4:40 p.m.

An Uncertain Future: Climate Change Concerns for the Next Generation, 3:30–4:40 p.m.

Ebert Interruptus, 4–6 p.m.

CU Jazz Ensemble, 4:15–5:15 p.m.

Leadership in the Age of Climate Change keynote with Rose Marcario, 5:30–6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 14

Competition to Collaboration: Can Climate Issues Unify Rivals?, 9–10:10 a.m.

Colorado River Crisis: How Did We Get Here?, 9–10:10 a.m.

Energy Technology That Will Power the World, 9–10:10 a.m.

Changing the World Through Art and Pop Culture, 9–10:10 a.m.

Democracy in Hotter Times, 10:30–11:40 a.m.

Colorado River Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here?, 10:30–11:40 a.m.

Carbon Capture: Natural and Technological Solutions, 10:30–11:40 a.m.

Ode to Earth, Sky and Ocean, 10:30–11:40 a.m.

Transportation: Where Are We Going and How Will We Get There?, 1:30–2:40 p.m.

Human Displacement: Managing the Effects from Climate Crises, 1:30–2:40 p.m.

The Importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Outdoor Recreation and Climate Advocacy, 1:30–2:40 p.m.

Enacting Climate Solutions Through Human Rights Climate Commitments: Right Here, Right Now Boulder Impact Forum, 3–4:10 p.m.

Ebert Interruptus, 4–6 p.m.

All sessions are Mountain Daylight Time. Join us in person or via livestream. Free and open to the public. For locations, event details, speaker biographies and to watch online, visit colorado.edu/cwa.

Thank you to our partners: