Planting Resilience: An Asian American Youth Mental Health Summit

Planting Resilience was born out of the recognition that Asian American communities experience a major lack of mental health services due to inaccessibility and perhaps, avoidance. Despite this, there is a current of interest to engage in better mental health care and practices among Asian American communities.

A study amongst Chinatown youth showed that third spaces are the safest places for youth to access mental health education and care. We have therefore designed the summit to be a safe space where youth can explore a variety of topics in community and without judgement. The summit is aimed to serve high school Asian American youth as well as their parents, guardians, or other caregivers.

Despite the common trope about stigma around mental health, we truly believe that between youth and their caregivers, the lack of candid dialogue around the topic is a two-way street and that there is great mutual interest to arrive at a new era of intergenerational care. If caregivers are not equipped to understand and care for their youth's mental health, how can we break down the barriers for the youth to bring it up? That is why the summit is designed to focus on youth for the full day and provide programming for caregivers in the second half.

Whether you're a high school youth, a youth program worker, a school counselor, or a guardian, we invite you to join us in Planting Resilience, and breaking down the walls in community.

*On site emergency therapist or social worker will be available as well as emotional regulation space and tools.

Planting Resilience is made possible by the Chicago Community Trust, the Sue Ling Gin Center for Education and Public Program at the Field Museum, and the Cyrus Tang Foundation.

The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community unites the resources of member organizations and individual members to empower Chinese American communities in Greater Chicago. As a coalition of member organizations and individuals, CBCAC carries out its mission through civic education, community planning, and civic leadership training.

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