Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health

The Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Initiative has engaged hundreds of Black youth across Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to identify the priorities that are important to them in disrupting suicide and improving mental health and wellbeing for Black youth. Young people identified six priorities, naming “Keep Black Youth Safe At All Times” as the most pressing of them. Our work is to respond to these priorities.

Background

RBYMH began as 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 Task Force 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.


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. 


After the first three years of this work, we received five additional years of funding from the Minnesota Department of Health to continue our work using the Communities that Care model. This model gives us the opportunity to dive deep into the risk factors that contribute to the above-mentioned issues in our community, and then saturate young people with the protective factors that prevent them.

Goals of the Initiative

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.

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.

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. 

  • Black Youth Mental Health Day at the Capitol

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  • Black Youth Mental Health Day at the Capitol

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  • Black Youth Mental Health Day at the Capitol

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Our Approach

Black-centered 
There is no one way to be Black. We honor the diversity, complexity, and beauty of the diaspora. 

Youth-led
We pour into Black youth first. We pay them for their creativity, knowledge, and contributions. We don’t teach them to be like us, we learn from them. We believe that every moment is part of the movement - especially the ones where rest and joy hold space for truth-telling. 

Community-driven
Ten people can’t speak for ten thousand. We do everything we can to expand the reach of this initiative. We maintain transparency in the work we do and trust the insight and experience of Black people and the community to determine what makes them mentally healthy and well. 

Key Players

Advisory Council 
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, Osseo Area Schools, Robbinsdale Area Schools, Brooklyn Center Community Schools, Anoka-Hennepin Schools, Intentions, ACER, U of M, MN Tobacco Free Alliance, Allina Health, 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
Black Youth Space is an open collective of Black youth ages 12-22 who meet monthly. 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. This space includes and is often planned and facilitated by our paid youth interns. 

RBYMH Highlights

Year 1 Highlights

Black Joy Project -  Retreat Recap Video 

Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Summit -  Recap Video

Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Summit -  Recap Report 


Year 2 Highlights

BBAY Update to State Resource Team - Report

Youth Determined Policy Priorities -  View here

Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health Summit 2.0  - Report

MDH Reimagine Advisory Council - Recap Video

Blackbird Video Series

Direction of Reimagine

In spring 2025, the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth was granted the Communities the Care Grant from the Minnesota Department of Health. This opportunity will allow Reimagine Black Youth Mental Health to take a deep dive into both substance use and mental health. This is a five-year grant cycle.