Youth Mental Health Corps

This #WorldMentalHealthDay, we’re highlighting the power of near-peer support and its role in making mental health resources more accessible to young people.

We’re proud to be recognized by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Commission on Opportunities After High School as a promising practice for expanding opportunity for young people. We were built around a simple idea: young people can be part of the solution to the youth mental health crisis while gaining the experience, skills and pathways to build careers in behavioral health and beyond. Through service, our members provide near-peer support in schools and communities while building hands-on experience for what comes next. Since launching in 2024, nearly 1,000 YMHC members have reached more than 44,000 youth and community members. Today, we’re active across 16 states and continuing to grow. We’re grateful to see this model highlighted alongside innovative approaches expanding what’s possible for young people after high school. Explore the collection: https://lnkd.in/ex4CzPDX #YouthMentalHealthCorps #YouthMentalHealth #WorkforceDevelopment #Service

Meet Vanessa Arevalo - A Youth Mental Health Corps member who is determined to create spaces where mental health resources are accessible to every young person without barriers. Growing up in a Hispanic community opened her eyes to the challenges faced by English-learning students in need of mental health services. Vanessa believes that serving others not only benefits those in need, but leaves a lasting, positive impact on the volunteer as well. Learn more about Vanessa's story of service here: https://lnkd.in/e9pCtBSQ #virginiavolunteer #VirginiaIsForVolunteers #servevirginia #americorps #youthmentalhealthcorps George Mason University AmeriCorps

Our movement just got stronger. We’re excited to welcome Kaiser Permanente as a national partner in the Youth Mental Health Corps Collaborative. Through a $10 million investment, Kaiser Permanente will help bring trusted near-peer mental health support to an additional 200,000 youth nationwide, while creating more opportunities for young adults to serve their communities, build new skills, earn meaningful credentials, and discover new possibilities for their futures. Because that’s what the Youth Mental Health Corps is all about: empowering young people to support one another, strengthen their communities, and discover the impact they can have along the way.   We’re so grateful to have Kaiser Permanente on this journey with us. Welcome to the movement!

Youth mental health requires all of us. As Youth Mental Health Corps grows, we’re grateful for the governors, state leaders, schools, community organizations, and partners helping expand access to youth mental health support across the country. The quotes in this carousel reflect a shared understanding that young people deserve support, connection, and pathways to care in the communities where they live and learn. Head to Youth Mental Health Corps to learn more about the work happening across the country. Schultz Family Foundation Pinterest #YouthMentalHealth #MentalHealth #SocialImpact #WorkforceDevelopment

Still reminiscing about our time in Los Angeles together.   National service looks like a lot of things. For our members, it looks like showing up every day for young people's mental health in their own schools, communities, often for kids who remind them of themselves. When we brought members together at Pinterest's LA offices, we asked what that work means to them. Watch to hear what we heard. 💙

What a first for the Youth Mental Health Corps. Earlier this week, 50 members from 11 states — part of a community nearly 1,000 strong — traveled to Pinterest's offices in California for our first-ever Member Convening.   Across the panels and every conversation in between, one message rang out: the work these young adults do every day is impactful, it's crucial, and it matters.   You could hear it in the youth-led leadership panel, where Fellows Devontay Henson (MD), Joshua Krzywicki (CO), Brevyn Tidwell (CA), and Dakota Yoon (VA) talked about what their service really looks like up close. Dakota put it best: the young people they serve don't just see them as mentors — they see someone who genuinely cares. And that kind of trust isn't built overnight. It's built by showing up, day after day, and proving you'll be back tomorrow, even when things are hard.   Alongside conversations on career pathways and social and digital wellbeing, members spent the day comparing notes from their own schools and communities and finding out how much they share with peers two time zones away.   Massive thanks to our partners at Pinterest, the Schultz Family Foundation, lululemon, and many more, whose investment makes a community like this possible.   Here's to the first of many.