headspace Youth Advisory Group | Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Become a part of the Santa Clara County headspace Youth Advisory Group!

Let your voice be heard!

Take action to improve the health and well-being of young people in your community. Learn more below and see if applying to become a Youth Advisory Group (YAG) member is for you!

We are looking to select a group of individuals who represent the diversity of Santa Clara County across race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, lived experience, ability, and socio-economic status. Santa Clara County headspace is a four-year project presented in partnership with Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services and Stanford University’s Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing.

The project will develop two youth-friendly centers for youth ages 12-25 with direct input from the Youth Advisory group, a group of motivated volunteers, looking to make a lasting and positive impact in their communities. With direct youth input and guidance, the services will be tailored to meet the needs of the adolescents and young adults served in each of the centers.

What kind of commitment will this be?

12 month commitment with option to re-apply for a second term
8-10 hours per month, including the following:
Attend an in person meeting once per month for 1.5-2 hours
2 engaged learning projects per advisory term (~ 1 per semester)
Represent the program at 1 community event per semester (focused on community engagement, outreach, center launch, etc.)
Option to attend 1 training per semester on a topic such as: advocacy, mental health literacy, peer education, media/ social media, etc.

What will I be responsible for?

Advocacy & awareness building to educate the local community about youth mental health and encourage young people to seek help and advocate for their own mental health
Meeting with Youth Advisors and Youth Outreach Specialist on a monthly basis, consistently for 12 months, as an active participant
Maintaining regular communication with other advisors and Youth Outreach Specialist via e-mail, Facebook group, and/or phone/text
Providing ongoing feedback via meetings, focus groups, and surveys to inform the planning, development, and improvement of the headspace sites, ensuring that the centers reflect the needs and wants of the young people we are serving
Helping to develop outreach and marketing campaigns to engage youth and young adults in the headspace services, especially for specific segments of the population who are harder to reach and engage in services
Engaged learning projects selected by you based on individual interests of advisors as matched with needs of the center at its particular phase of development, which could include hosting an outreach or advocacy event, creating marketing/ outreach materials, creating a social media campaign to address mental health stigma, etc.

Who will the Youth Advisory Group members be?

Like-minded young people who are passionate about affecting change and reducing stigma within the field of youth mental health
Young people who want to take action and connect with other youth to build something innovative within mental health services in Santa Clara County
Between ages 16-25 (high school-aged and up), living in and around the community in which the first headspace sites are established: San Jose and Palo Alto/ Mountain View.
Representing diversity across race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, lived experience, ability, and socio-economic status

Applications for YAG have closed. Questions? Contact Ana Lilia Soto at analilia.soto@stanford.edu

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Become a part of the Santa Clara County headspace Youth Advisory Group!

Let your voice be heard!

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