Alliance Note: Mental Health America has recently released their 2023 Young Leaders Council Report which looks to what is next for advancing youth leadership and inclusion in mental health. See below for more information, including a link to the full report.
Challenging, Sustaining, And Evolving:
An Anthology On Youth Mental Health Advocacy (And Hope)
Amid this youth mental health crisis, several young advocates have emerged to challenge the status quo, insisting that the world pay attention. Young people have mobilized, organized, and fought to usher in a new era of mental health advocacy, and they are finally being invited to the table.
Now what?
This anthology is a reflection on the complexities that young people are confronted with in the world of mental health activism – as told firsthand by the members of MHA’s YLC. In this report, you’ll hear from six different YLC members about their own advocacy journeys, with their lived experiences and individual voices at the forefront.
We offer a candid exploration of what it means to be a young person in advocacy spaces and the truths that often go unspoken – the victories, defeats, hope, adversity, and everything in between. Our aim is to fill in the gaps and embrace the nuances of youth activism, driven ultimately by the belief in a just and compassionate future for all.
It is an impossible task for anyone to feel like a mouthpiece for an entire generation, so we remind you that this anthology is inclusive but not exhaustive, and while these experiences may be relatable, they are not universal.
These stories are not shared lightly – please listen closely and find the larger critique and vision for the mental health movement within them. We invite readers to embrace the imperfection, sit comfortably in the gray areas, and allow challenges to established assumptions.
Click here to learn more and see the full report.
