Editor’s Note: Today marks the first day of Mental Health Awareness Month. Since 1949, May has been dedicated to educating the public about the reality of mental health in the U.S. and ending the stigmas that surround this. In honor of that history, we asked young people across California to share their own experiences with mental health issues. Read below to see what they had to say about mental health at home, in school and among their peers.

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This post was made in collaboration with Youth Radio, Coachella Unincorporated, Access Sacramento, We’Ced Youth Media and YouthWire.

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The kNOw Youth Media
The kNOw works to support and equip young people with the journalism and advocacy skills they need to tell their stories and the stories of their communities.

In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.

Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.

The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.

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