A middle school student reflects on her BRITE Futures Initiative advocacy project, sharing why mental health matters to her community, the research she explored, the action she took, and the future impact she plans to do.

For many adolescents in the U.S., social media has become a breeding ground for an expanding drug market tailored towards youth. The rise in adolescent drug overdose deaths linked to social media requires modifying regulations and educational systems to protect youth.

At school, I saw how often students had a hard time dealing with peer pressure. What started as a simple observation turned into a project, an event, and eventually an official BRITE youth-led initiative.

At BRITE, we believe mental health is just as important as physical health and that it’s something we all deserve access to, every single day. Wellness Every Day is a free, county-wide resource designed to support people at every stage of life. Whether you’re feeling stressed, lonely, anxious, depressed, or just wanting to strengthen your mental health, the site offers practical tools, education, and local resources.

Building relationships is hard, and maintaining them is even harder. Whether romantic, platonic, or interpersonal, all relationships require one shared element to thrive: consistent communication.

A college student discusses the negative effects of juvenile incarceration on families and communities, and how we can prevent juvenile incarceration and better support our youth.