At HHS, we know that some of the most effective solutions to the challenges within a community emerge from the community. I am proud to have been part of HHS’s first ever Children and Youth Resilience Summit, which featured fourteen finalists from across the country who have developed innovative, community-led solutions to advance mental health in children and adolescents. The Summit, which helped kick off Mental Health Awareness Month on May 2 and 3, was the culmination of months of work by the finalists for the and their federal partners at HHS. The Resilience Challenge is part of the Department’s commitment to advancing behavioral health through our HHS-wide Behavioral Health Coordinating Council and the .

I was honored to introduce the Innovation Showcase, where each finalist delivered a five-minute presentation about their project’s impact for almost 100 in-person attendees and 300 online viewers. The Showcase presenters wowed us with their projects, which included initiatives to:

• Build inter-generational bridges that support healing and justice for youth
• Prevent adverse and promote positive childhood experiences
• Construct youth-led spaces to foster mental health, and
• Dismantle barriers to health resources

Their extraordinary work shows how community insight about children and youth can turn into real results for communities. The Showcase gave us confidence that these innovations will inspire community leaders and their federal partners to share and promote these powerful solutions across the country. Throughout the Summit, my fellow HHS leaders – including Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs and Director of the Office of Adolescent Health Jessica Marcella, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Miranda Lynch-Smith – engaged with the finalists in conversations about mental health challenges impacting their communities and promising initiatives to support children and youth resilience.

It was inspiring to see youth leaders propose solutions to address the mental health crisis, and it reaffirmed HHS’s commitment to authentically partner with young people. One finalist shared how much their perception of what it means to partner with the federal government has changed. Their insight, ideas, and inspiration were critical to the Summit’s success.

We look forward to continuing to partner intentionally with communities in our shared work to build resilience and promote mental health among children, teens, and young adults. Together, we will keep working to ensure all children, young people, and families can thrive.