4-H Virtual PYD Academy on Youth Mental Health
Helping Youth Thrive – Building 4-H Professional Capacity to Strengthen Youth Mental Health through Positive Youth Development
4-H Youth Development can play an important role in supporting youth mental health, but many 4-H professionals are uncertain of how to respond, unclear what their role is, and lack the knowledge and skills needed to provide 4-H programs that strengthen youth mental health.
The 2022 Virtual 4-H Academy on Youth Mental Health is intended to increase the capacity of 4-H professionals to support youth and their mental health through high-quality PYD programs. The academy will provide cutting edge information on the state of youth mental health, help attendees understand a PYD response to the crisis, learn about the unique needs of particular youth populations, hear from youth about how 4-H has supported their mental health during the pandemic, and build capacity for effective approaches for supporting youth during this time.
The overarching goal of the academy is to ground 4-H’s approach to supporting youth mental health in the practice of positive youth development, including
Raising awareness of the current state of youth mental health in the U.S. and the unique role that youth development organizations like 4-H can play in addressing it
Developing an understanding of a PYD approach to supporting youth mental health
Learning how the 4-H Thriving Model provides a clear roadmap to supporting youth mental health through a PYD approach
Learning the multiple factors that negatively influence mental health, and why they have a stronger negative impact during the pandemic
Understanding the youth populations that are at particular risk for poor mental health and why the difference in risk is also an issue of equity
Learning strategies and exploring tools for a PYD approach to supporting youth mental health
Conference sessions include daily main stage presentations and keynote addresses, state reflection time, competency building, and breakout sessions.
Registration begins the March 15th, limited to 1,000 participants
and financial assistance may be available!