RBYMH is a three-year initiative, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.

The grant for the initiative was prompted by a rise in Black youth suicide rates. Research shows that the suicide death rate among Black youth is increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group. The Congressional Black Caucus established an Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health in an effort to determine the causes and potential solutions to this crisis. The group released the following report detailing their work: Ring the Alarm: The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America.

In Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, there are more than 10,400 Black youth ages 10-17. Based on the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey data, non-Hispanic Black, African, or African American students reported lower rates for mental health and well-being components compared to their non-Hispanic white peers. The largest disparities in mental well-being components by race and ethnicity include social integration, social competency, personal growth, empowerment, and family/peer relationships.  

The Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Initiative exists to improve Black youth mental health; design a process that positions Black youth and communities to be at the center and forefront of policy development; and implement a “mental health in all policies” approach. 

1. Shift the narrative around Black youth mental health. We are changing how we think and talk about Black youth and mental health. We remember and uplift the inherent goodness of Black youth. We model the knowing and loving of Black youth and the vulnerability it takes to be known and loved. We declare Black-centeredness in the face of anti-Blackness. We prioritize the strengths and mattering of Black people and Black cultures in our healing. We move from numbness toward Black pain to the loving of Black joy. We understand that what we ask determines what we find. What we find determines how we talk. How we talk determines what we can imagine. What we can imagine determines what we achieve.
2. Strengthen the ecosystem for Black youth and their wellbeing. Youth-led doesn’t mean adults do nothing. Readying adults and helping them be well so that they can do well work, is part of ensuring that Black youth are surrounded and supported by the infrastructure needed to sustain them.
3. Change the conditions that are making Black youth unwell. We don’t want to simply give Black youth the coping skills to navigate while they continue to be harmed. We are doing the work to stop the harm too, through systems and policy change. 

Our Advisory Council is a collective of Black adults across multiple sectors of decision-making power. Some of the organizations represented on our Advisory Council include: the City of Brooklyn Park, City of Brooklyn Center, Hennepin County, Minnesota Department of Health, Osseo Area Schools, Robbinsdale Area Schools, Brooklyn Center Community Schools, Anoka-Hennepin Schools, Intentions, ACER, Teen Annex Clinic, U of M, as well as parents and other community members. The Advisory Council is essential at the infrastructure/ecosystem level to the movement of this work. They make up much of the on-the-ground ecosystem. 

Black Youth Space is an open collective of Black youth ages 12-22 who meet at least twice a month. Black Youth Space was created within the Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Initiative as an opportunity for Black youth to be seen and supported, heard and understood, and use their voice to impact change related to mental health. In this space, youth participate in activities that help them connect with each other and build community, gain confidence and practice vulnerability, learn about our history and culture, and have fun all while contributing to tangible change related to improving their mental health. 

MDH has established partnerships across state departments that can help leverage additional resources, contacts, and research to support effective policy implementation, amplify and promote effective policies from the demonstration projects, and support sustainability by incorporating aspects of the process into existing programs and providing vehicles for systematically scaling the policy implementation in other community settings.

The State Resource Team (SRT) is led and convened by MDH and includes representation from the following: 

• Governor Walz’s Children’s Cabinet
• State Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP)
• Regional Equity Coordinators
• Suicide Prevention
• Minnesota School Based Health Centers (SBHC)
• Minnesota Department of Education
• Minnesota Office of Higher Education
• Minnesota Department of Human Services
• Center for Health Equity
• Minnesota Department of Public Safety
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
• Minnesota Association of Children’s Mental Health