The Youth Empowerment Series (YES!) is a community-based project aimed to reduce mental health disparities among Latinx youth from mixed-status families by providing culturally responsive and bilingual mental health professionals directly in schools. By removing barriers to treatment, such as transportation, language, and cultural differences, YES! seeks to increase access to mental health care for these teens, ultimately reducing rates of depression and improving overall well-being. Additionally, YES! centers itself on strengths-based cultural storytelling and facilitates community building. YES! has been ongoing since spring 2022 and has been received positively by participating Latinx youth. Using an independent evaluator on the third iteration of YES!, 100% of youth reported they would highly recommend the series to other students and 100% found the series to be valuable. Most recently, YES! received funding by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund for an additional two years, allowing the project to extend to eight weeks (previously six), provide mental health literacy support for parents, and expand its evaluation process, including a youth advisory board, to better serve the community. This project was developed and implemented by the Latinx Mental Health Collaborative.
PI: Fernanda Cross, PhD and the Latinx Mental Health Collaborative
Funding: Michigan Health Endowment; NCID Anti-Racism Research & Community Impact Faculty Fellowship; UM ADVANCE Faculty SUCCEED
Collaborators: Amplify CoIectivo, Washtenaw Health Project, Ypsilanti Community Schools.
News Features:
Second Wave Media – Latinx Empowerment Group Making an Impact.
WXYZ (2024) – Local Doc’s Immigration Story Inspires Plan to Help Students Get Mental Health Services.
Concentrate Media (2023) – Latinx Teen Empowerment Group offers community and mental health support for Ypsi students.
WEMU 89.1 (2023) – Latinx Teen Empowerment Group helps kids find support and community.
