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Mental health and well-being are a foundation for learning, growth, connection, and a meaningful life. From early childhood through young adulthood, young people develop the social, emotional, and relational skills that shape who they become and how they engage with the world. When youth experience belonging, connection, and a sense that they matter, they are better positioned to learn, build relationships, contribute to their communities, and imagine positive futures for themselves.
Young people do not grow in isolation. Their well-being is shaped every day by the systems around them—schools, families, community organizations, and the policies and practices that guide those environments. Supportive relationships with caring adults, inclusive cultures, and environments that affirm young people's strengths are among the most powerful protective factors for lifelong mental health.
Many factors influence youth mental health and well-being. Young people who identify as LGBTQ+, Black and Hispanic youth, youth from families with low incomes, and youth in rural communities often face additional barriers to support and opportunity. Creating the conditions for all young people to thrive requires strengthening the environments where they live, learn, and grow.
At Interact for Health, our youth mental health and well-being strategy is focused on helping young people experience a deeper sense of belonging and have meaningful agency to shape the systems, environments, and narratives that impact their lives.
Through community engagement and partnership with young people and organizations across our region, we have heard a consistent message: young people want to feel valued, connected, supported by trusted adults, and empowered to shape their futures. These insights continue to guide our work.
There are steps we can take to create the conditions where all young people can thrive. Interact for Health is working with community partners on three connected strategies:
No single organization can solve the challenges affecting youth mental health and well-being. Through Hopeful Empowered Youth (HEY!), a regional coalition of youth, organizations, schools, funders, and community leaders, we are aligning action around a shared vision for youth well-being and creating opportunities for collaboration, learning, and action across sectors.
Read more about HEY! here.
We believe young people should help shape the decisions that affect their lives. Interact for Health invests in organizations that elevate youth voice, share power with young people, and create opportunities for youth leadership, organizing, and advocacy. By supporting youth-led change, we help young people build agency, resilience, and purpose while strengthening their communities.
Take a look at our journey from amplifying youth voice to investing in youth organizing on our blog.
Lasting change requires more than individual programs. We work with schools, community organizations, and other institutions to strengthen the policies, practices, relationships, and environments that influence young people's experiences.
This includes building adult capacity, supporting inclusive and affirming cultures, elevating youth voice in decision-making, and advancing systems change that helps young people experience belonging, connection, and agency.
How can adults show up for youth? Learn more about The Be There Certificate here.
We know our region can become a national leader in youth well-being. We'll get there through youth leadership, community-driven action, collaboration across sectors, and long-term changes in the systems that shape young people's lives.
Find our full list of grantee partners here. To find out about possible grants, visit our Open Funding Page.
If you or someone you love is experiencing a mental health crisis, text or call 988. For other practical resources on promoting youth mental health and wellbeing, check out MindPeace's resources for families, educators, and crisis support.
Deanna Hillard, Senior Program Manager Youth Mental Health & Well-being
dhillard@interactforhealth.org
Lisa Myers, Program Director of Youth Mental Health & Well-being
We asked community members who attended our Journey to Health Justice event in February 2023, What does mental health mean to you? Cincinnati artist Brandon Black created this piece from their responses.
A movement for youth well-being
HEY! (Hopeful Empowered Youth) is a diverse coalition of youth and community partners working toward a shared vision that all young people in Greater Cincinnati are valued, supported, and have a say in shaping the systems that help them achieve well-being. Through youth leadership, collaboration, advocacy, and aligned action, HEY! is helping transform how our region supports young people.
