Partnering to Improve Youth Mental Wellbeing

Youth of all races, identities and abilities deserve equitable access to mental health supports that are inclusive and responsive to their lived experiences. The reality is that young people are experiencing mental health challenges at increasingly alarming rates, and many of them — like youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and youth in rural and frontier communities — face inadequate access to quality care.

You can spark the change you wish to see in your community to improve youth mental wellbeing. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s new web-based guide, “Connecting Communities: A Guide to Youth-Adult Partnership for Youth Mental Wellbeing,” offers tools, activities and other resources to help youth and community-based organizations collaborate to realize a shared vision for change.

By partnering with youth and sharing power in decision-making, community-based organizations can empower young people to channel their voices of lived experience and create new, more inclusive approaches to improving youth mental wellbeing. Together, we can build responsive community support systems that nurture resilience, self-efficacy and wellbeing for all youth.