Behavorial Health Initiative Action Team
Action Team Goal
The Reduce Stigma Against Youth Mental Health Action Team aims to decrease the stigma youth experience towards their mental health needs and challenges from adults through the sharing of their perspectives and providing the region with youth-informed recommendations.
Targeted Problem
The generational divide between youth and adults has created a disconnect around how to approach behavioral health needs and challenges. This barrier, paired with adults’ lack of awareness of youths’ personal situations, can often lead to dismissal of youth behavioral health needs, which has added to the stigma around youth mental health.
Our Collective Work
To combat the stigma against youth mental health, this action team has facilitated projects that highlight the youth perspective on the issue of stigma and developed youth-informed recommendations and calls to action for the region to take in an effort to reduce stigma against youth mental health. A list of the Action Team members who contributed this work can also be found below.
Sharing the Youth Perspective on Stigma Against Mental Health
The Reduce Stigma Against Youth Mental Health Action Team highlighted the youth perspective and experience on mental health stigma through a Photovoice project and the production of a short video.
Developing Youth-Informed Stigma Reduction Recommendations
The Reduce Stigma Against Youth Mental Health Action Team developed a set of 10 youth-informed recommendations to help individuals across the region better understand what they can do to decrease the stigma youth experience against their mental health needs and challenges.
Providing the Region with Calls to Action
This Action Team presented calls to action to everyone across the region through a youth-driven stigma reduction PSA that aired on the radio and through the distribution of their stigma reduction Toolkit.
Design and Implementation Team Members
Since 2021, 11 stakeholders in the NW MI region have been engaged in the work of this Action Team.
Leaders
- Hannah Rodriguez – Manistee County Community Foundation
- Mishelle Shooks – Charlevoix County Community Foundation
Members
- Paige Pemble – Charlevoix County Student
- Jurgen Griswold – Antrim County Student
- Elke Knauf – Charlevoix County Student
- Elena Pizana – Manistee County Student
- Miranda Guzman-Shrake – Benzie County Student
- Camden Carey – Charlevoix County Student
- Cali Foss – Antrim County Student
- Lindsey Jibson – Charlevoix County Student
- Bella Craisa – Manistee County Student
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT OUR WORK?
- Read and listen to this Team’s calls to action in their Toolkit and PSA.
- Share the Reducing Stigma against Youth Mental Health Toolkit with your network.
- Help to reduce the stigma against youth mental health by implementing one or more of the youth-informed recommendations into your personal and/or professional role.
