Announcing: NAMIChicagoYouth.org!

By Courtney Johnson, LSW - Education Manager

NAMI Chicago is proud to announce today the launch of a brand-new online educational resource for youth and families: NAMIChicagoYouth.org & NAMIChicagoJovenes.org! This dual-language website, designed for young people in grades 3 and up, is a response to both the COVID-19 crisis and the growing demand for mental health education resources for youth of all ages.

This virtual youth platform comes as a complement to NAMI Chicago’s long-time work in classrooms across Chicagoland. For many years, we have provided free mental health education in school settings to students, caregivers and school staff through our youth program, Ending the Silence. The program teaches the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions in young people, how to connect and find help, and how to prevent suicide.

In our work with youth over the years we’ve seen that young students, as early as elementary school, are having mental health symptoms and need age-appropriate mental health information and support. So do the adults in their support networks. We have also seen that young people in this generation are eager learners, and benefit from experiential resources they can explore on their own time.

To meet this need, and the demands of the pandemic e-learning era, NAMI Chicago created a virtual youth platform to provide mental health education in English and Spanish to students grades 3 and up, and the adults who care for them, in Chicago and beyond. This resource can be used by students looking to learn independently, by teachers who are looking for a guide to engage students virtually in classroom conversations about mental health, or by caregivers who want to learn more about how they can support youth at home.

The youth-focused platform explores topics like what mental health is, how to know if you or a friend need extra support, and guides and activities for fostering wellness at any age. It catches the eye and the imagination with videos and personal stories, fun graphics, and creative storytelling tools like “Gus & Copper’s Wellness Guides”, mental health tips from the perspective of NAMI Chicago’s best dogs.

NAMI Chicago is grateful to many funders for their support of our growing education work, including Michael Reese Health Trust, the Helen Alfirevich Memorial Fund, and Jack and Jill of America.

The youth platform is officially available in English at namichicagoyouth.org and in Spanish at namichicagojovenes.org.