You are not alone. If you are concerned for a friend or yourself, call the Central Valley Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text TEEN to 839863 (from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PST) for anonymous support for teenagers provided by Teen Line
Soluna App: Built for 13- to 25-year-olds in California, Soluna lets you chat 1 on 1 with professional coaches. Plus: free-writing journals, de-stressing tools, and forums where you can get and give advice (or vent). Free and confidential. www.solunaapp.com
My drawing represents how to help a friend. Sometimes there are issues, conflcits and problems and sometimes when you need help you cna turn to friends. With friends you can feel free to talk about your problems. Letting friends know you are there for them is so important.
My submission is a digital art piece meant to portray myself painting a self portrait! Art has always been an outlet for my emotions. When there aren’t any words to describe how I’m feeling, no one for me to express my emotions to, I start drawing and painting. To me, the process of creating art is calming. It helps me reflect on myself greatly. Contrary to what people might believe, I believe that being able to express yourself through art isn’t exclusive to people who identify as “artists”. Anyone can create art, because behind every art piece is emotion——and we all have emotions.
When I think of self-care and taking care of my mental health, I connect my experience to my family. We learn a lot–most times unknowingly– about how to go through life by seeing how our family and ancestors have. We do the same and sometimes we try to break into our own path too. For me, I find comfort in cultural and familial traditions in times where I feel ungrounded. Something as simple as finding the time to make coffee in a special way that my family does, grounds me. Its something that brings me back to myself.
My submission highlights the importance of taking care of our mental health and compares it to taking care of a plant. Our mental health is a delicate system that requires careful attention, just like a fragile plant. When we provide the right conditions, it can flourish remarkably.
Our video is meant to support students in making positive choices and seeking support from others
My submission is a video of a boy reading a poem he wrote about the injustice he faced when he was younger.
This entry is made by one our youths from the Eastern African Community of San Diego. In the Video they, the youth member portrays what it’s like to view oneself from a negative view based of the today’s social media standards. However, the Youth in the video switches scripts and starts providing positive affirmation and focuses on social media from a positive lens.
This piece supports people asking for help and also reminds people that they are brave for asking for help.