This summer — and particularly during Mental Health Awareness Month held each May — Youth Engaged 4 Change encouraged young people to tell us and their peers about how to practice self-care and what’s worked for them. Using Instagram and Facebook, we shared tools and ideas about what helps young people take care of themselves and their communities.

On August 5, YE4C launched a contest focused on generating insights from young people with the prompt “What Gives You Hope for the Future?” This was a solutions-focused engagement, designed to ask young people to look to themselves, their communities, or elsewhere to find hope and be an advocate for positive change. Submissions could be in the form of an original image, drawing, photograph, or meme, and 1-2 sentences describing the image. We received more than 25 entries and 300 total votes and were truly inspired by the creativity and hope from each youth!

The YE4C team is excited to share with you a series of podcasts about the different paths young changemakers can take when transitioning to adulthood. These episodes were recorded by young adults who focus on topics related to education, careers, and mental health. Check out this episode about Lexandra and let us know what you think!