Youth lead
Young people set priorities, shape campaigns, and speak from lived experience. Adults support the work without taking it over.
Who we are
Built by youth.
Backed by community.
Youth Alliance on Mental Health is a youth-run organization building the confidence, tools, and partnerships young people need to improve mental health support in schools and beyond.
Nothing about youth mental health should happen without youth.
That is our starting point.
Why we exist
Students experience the system every day. We should help redesign it.
Young people know where support gets confusing, where stigma grows, and where classmates fall through the cracks. That knowledge belongs in every conversation about school mental health.
We help students turn lived experience into organized action: listening to peers, choosing a focus, building a campaign, and working with adults who can help make change last.
How we work
Four principles keep the movement ours.
Local comes first
Every school community is different. Chapters listen before acting and organize around the barriers their peers actually face.
Action over awareness
A poster is a start, not an outcome. We push for clearer support pathways, better information, and real seats for students at decision-making tables.
Care and advocacy connect
Changing systems takes time. We also help students, families, and schools find support that can make a difference right now.
About the founder
CL
Conner
Lee
Sophomore · The Kinkaid School
Founder · Performance Lab
Student athlete · Cross country
Student founded. Student led.
Mental health makes learning possible.
Conner Lee is a sophomore at The Kinkaid School and the founder of Performance Lab, his school’s chapter focused on the mental health of student athletes.
His why
Mental health is essential to learning. It is a basic need, just like having food and lunch at school.
Learning starts with wellbeing
From personal support to wider access
While running cross country, Conner experienced his own mental health challenges. He was able to seek help through resources available at his school, and that support showed him how important access can be when a student is struggling.
He also recognized that many schools do not have the same resources. He founded this movement so more young people can bring support into their own schools, advocate for change, and make the case for greater funding for youth mental health.
Performance Lab
A school-local chapter helping student athletes talk about mental health, find support, and advocate for the resources they need to learn and perform.
The next voice can be yours