Co-Constructing Educational Possibilities With Black Youth in Florida to Support Their Mental Health and Well-Being

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 4:55 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Youth- and Community-Centered Research: Building Relationships for Empowerment and Racial Justice (Table 5)

Abstract

As youth in Florida face censure to discuss important topics, out-of-school spaces that support youth voice and their mental well-being is critical. This study describes an out-of-school youth-led participatory action research intervention using photovoice to engage Black male students to think about the increased suicidality of Black male youth in America and to take action. However, due to a tragic killing of a peer, the project shifted. The focus became honoring the life of the peer while demanding change about how a local school and community engage Black youth’s mental health. Project results were two-fold: (a) the development of self-advocacy for participants to voice their mental health needs, and (b) the recognition that youth can be leaders in communal healing.

Authors

• L. Trenton S. Marsh, University of Central Florida

• Liliana Montoro Donchik Belkin, University of Roehampton