The COVID-19 pandemic is having dramatic impacts on the well-being of our youth in many ways. School districts are struggling to maintain safe learning environments for their students, staff, and teachers. For many young people, the most significant impacts are on their mental health. And even if we’ve turned some corners in the pandemic, the emotional effects linger. We held a live zoom conversation last week where we heard directly from students, from mental health professionals, and from participants in a youth support circle.

The event was a co-production between OPB and “Call to Mind,” American Public Media’s initiative to foster new conversations about mental health.

We talked about how young people are coping with mental health struggles and how the individuals and the institutions in their lives could best support their resilience. Our guests are Alyssia Menezes a junior at Portland’s Lincoln High School, and Jospin Mugisha, a sophomore at Portland State University.