Teens champion mental health equity

Last summer, Eden Prairie High School students Vandana Ramanathan and Aadya Pandey worked together to address the stigmatization of mental health they saw present in their community.

As a solution, they formed the Youth Equity Project (YEP), a national youth-led nonprofit focused on addressing the stigmatization of mental health among youth groups and marginalized communities, such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth. 

YEP consists of a team of 50 student-leaders nationwide, all dedicated to ending inequality in mental health education and access.

The team is divided into subteams, such as a blog team, a fundraising team, and more. Together, they aim to break through barriers and address stereotypes, such as those struggling to be deemed weak and mocked regarding mental health among youth.

Advancing Youth Equity Project’s objectives

YEP focuses on reducing the barriers youth may face. Pandey explains, “not just in terms of like cost barriers or like accessibility barriers, but also just like their cultural barriers.” Cultural barriers could be a different understanding of mental illness among groups, a lack of diversity in the field, or mistrust in treatment. 

To do this, YEP prioritizes raising awareness of the cultural stigmas in marginalized communities. Pandey says, “We realized that it’s really time that we take initiative on specifically the stigma that surrounds mental health.”

Pandey and Ramanathan’s academic and social experiences gave them the idea for YEP.

“There were just so many things that we dealt with and realized how much mental health is really integrated into our lives,” Pandey explains. 

YEP is achieving its goal of addressing the mental health crisis by giving youth access to resources and advocating for reform. The registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit has reached over 3,000 people on social media, hosts volunteer events, and works with over 30 elected officials. 

One of the biggest ways YEP hopes to make an impact is through state legislation. In the current session, the nonprofit is working on numerous bills with legislators and politicians in the hope of reform, such as bills in the Minnesota State Senate to provide more mental health resources in schools and increase students’ access to support. They are also working with school board members to implement policies.

YEP is also interested in conducting scientific research. To further its initiatives, it has partnered with numerous businesses and organizations, such as NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Minnesota, High School Democrats of America, USA Balanced Plate, and the Hindu Society of Minnesota.

Youth Equity Project’s growing impact

So far, YEP has impacted over 10,000 youth and is striving for more in the future.

“We want it to expand even more across the country and potentially even across the borders of our country one day,” Pandey says. “I want YEP to be as far-reaching as possible, just so that we can expand all of those things that we have to offer as an organization.”

Pandey and Ramanathan, currently juniors, both want to continue YEP in the future.“Vandana and I aren’t planning on quitting YEP anytime soon, even after we’re out of high school,” Pandey says

Although the organization is new, many students rely on YEPS support. Pandey explains, “A lot of students do reach out to us about their own struggles and we kind of have the opportunity to direct them in the right direction.” To do this, YEP has a list of resources targeted to specific mental health concerns on its website. 

In the future, YEP hopes to continue advocating for mental health reform.

“I want people to think of YEP as a place they can go to and know that they can have access to mental health care, regardless of the barriers that they face,” Pandey says.

To get involved or read more, check out their website here.