The holiday season can bring us so much cheer and emotional wealth, including the opportunity to reunite with family and loved ones. As we adjust to a new routine and, at times, a new environment around the holidays, it can also be difficult to navigate the mental health challenges we may be facing or bringing…
As the winter months settle upon us, seasons change, and many aspects of our lives do as well. Change can take on many forms and manifest in several ways, from minor adjustments to our daily routines to more significant transitions such as a new job, ending relationships, or relocating to a new city. These shifts…
As a transgender man, Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day that’s near and dear to my heart. For most transgender and gender non-conforming youth, it is one of the ways we honor our elders, peers, and history, even if we cannot come out. In 2023, we are honoring the 19 transgender and non-binary siblings…
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. Send Silence Packing® (SSP) is a traveling exhibit with the purpose of opening the conversation about mental health issues that we all face on a daily basis while also providing attendees with the resources available to them on a community and national level. I decided to become…
Self-advocacy is a powerful tool, especially as we navigate a world with systems that are not structured to serve us. To me, as an immigrant, queer Latina, it is important to understand all of the factors that have played into my mental well-being. Growing up in a Hispanic household where mental health was not talked…
As an educator in the classroom and a former principal on the South Side of Chicago, I’ve seen firsthand the challenges that students and staff alike face. American Education Week provides a crucial opportunity to shed light on an issue that continues to be ignored: the need to support the mental health of both students…
As we approach another Veterans Day, I find myself reflecting on the commitment we owe to our military personnel and veterans. Working as the policy manager at Active Minds, the importance of mental health advocacy is prominent, especially for those who’ve served our nation. Two transformative policies that have the power to greatly support veterans’…
College is not easy. This fall, I began my sophomore year at Union College, and it is definitely much more challenging than the previous year, especially since I have all upper-level classes this term, two of them being biology classes and one other intensive political science class. Though students often jokingly debate which is more…
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. Getting involved in mental health advocacy in our youth is not easy, but with the emergence of bills like the Student ID Bill (a proposal for schools to print mental health hotline numbers, such as 988, on the back of student ID cards), opportunities for upcoming generations…
Voting forms the bedrock of our democracy, carrying substantial weight in shaping the policies and societal issues that will be addressed during campaigns and highlighted in the laws put into action in your state. In the 2023 election cycle, voters wield influence over a wide range of positions, including gubernatorial candidates (governors), state legislatures, state…
Active Minds is the largest nonprofit in the United States mobilizing youth and young adults to transform mental health norms across society.