Better Connections to Improve Mental Health

An Upper Division student at Avenues Shenzhen is establishing a community mental health center for teenagers, hoping to improve the mental health of young people through social connection. 

It’s important to find an outlet for stress and worry. Madeline, a 10th grade student at Avenues Shenzhen, noticed that adolescent mental health has become a global problem. In China, professional psychological help is expensive and difficult to obtain, and pandemic-related isolation has had a significant impact on the mental health of young people. Madeline hopes to connect teenagers to professional mental health resources, to help them understand their own mental health and to provide a platform for discussion and mutual aid. As part of her project, Madeline researched community mental health services around the world and visited local organizations doing related work in Shenzhen.

Madeline has received funding from the Avenues Seedbank to develop the community mental health center as a social enterprise.

Solutions to global-scale problems often start with first-hand observation and experience–and Madeline’s project, we hope, will demonstrate that. “Teens with mental health problems have been my roommates, classmates, and neighbors, and they will be my colleagues in the future,” Madeline said. “Society is a web that connects everyone. With my perspective on and knowledge of this network, I have a unique contribution to make.”