Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts

Springfield Youth Mental Health Coalition

The Springfield Youth Mental Health Coalition is convened by the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. The Coalition consists of behavioral health and youth-serving organization serving youth and families across Greater Springfield. We are led by our outstanding Youth Advisors, known as Beat the Odds (BTO), Forget the Statistics - a name they branded themselves!


In 2019 we began a year long process with an Advisory Board to identify a health problem made worse by the presence of a casino in Springfield, MA. To help narrow from fifteen potential topics to one, we gathered diverse community voices, input from content experts, and data from existing community health needs assessments. This process identified youth behavioral health as the biggest priority.


With help from our BTO Youth Advisors, we adopted the following strategies:

  • Mental Health Awareness Campaign – I am More Than My Mood
  • Professional Development and Community Education
  • Problem Gambling Awareness – Leading the Training of Trainers certification program for the Public Health Approach to Problem Gambling Prevention training.

Coalition Building

YMHC PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES 

  • Mental Health Awareness

    In 2023, the YMHC launched a mental health campaign that exemplifies that we are more than our mood, much more than what meets the surface, and that it's okay to explore our underlying feelings of stress, anxiety and depression.


    The campaign includes a website with mental health resources for youth, caregivers, and adult supporters. 

    Learn more

  • Professional Development and Community Education

    The YMHC offers professional development to professionals working with youth to educate about youth mental health from a cultural and social justice perspective. The coalition also offers community education open to all Springfield residents and organizations to build awareness around stress, anxiety and depression and how to identify symptoms in themselves and loved ones.  

    View Training Opportunities

  • Problem Gambling Awareness

    Stay tuned for more information!

  • Beat the Odds Youth Advisors

    • Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services
    • South End Community Center

  • Peer Mentoring Collaborative

    • Academic Leadership Association
    • AmeriCorps: Springfield College
    • AmeriCorps: DIAL/SELF Youth and Community Services
    • Big Brothers, Big Sisters
    • Follow my Steps
    • Girls, Inc. of the Valley
    • Gandara's Impact Center
    • MassMentoring Partnership 
    • Out Now
    • Project Amp
    • Project Coach
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  • Communications Committee

    • City of Springfield - Office of the Mayor
    • Gandara's Impact Center
    • Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services
    • South End Community Center
    • Springfield Public Schools
    • Tools for Success Counseling
    • Trust Transfer Project

  • Professional Development and Community Education

    • African Diaspora Mental Health Association
    • Baystate Health Family Advocacy Center
    • Tools for Success
    • Wellness for the Culture

OUR FUNDERS

Thank you for supporting this important work in Springfield! 

For the Youth Mental Health Coalition initiatives including Youth Advisors, Peer Mentoring and Professional Development:

Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Problem Gambling Services


For the Communications Campaign:

  • Davis Foundation
  • Trinity Health of New England
  • Whitcomb Foundation
  • Women's Fund of Western MA
  • City of Springfield 

Reports

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