Registration is open for local students to join the AIM Ideas Lab, a student-led project focusing on teenager’s mental health.

Throughout the eight-week program, students work together to create a mental health survey to disseminate to their peers and advocate for policy that aligns with its findings. Last year, 28 high school students from the Peninsula and Salinas Valley focused their survey on the biggest impacts on their peers’ mental health.

Students have until Nov. 22 to fill out the online application to participate in the next cohort, which will take place Jan. 27-March 17.

Founded in 2014, AIM Youth Mental Health is a nonprofit based out of Monterey County that focuses on uplifting student voices with an emphasis on mental health and wellbeing. Through the Ideas Lab, students in Monterey, Marin, San Diego, Santa Clara and Alameda counties learn how to create and carry out their own research project.

“Participants in the AIM Ideas Lab gain a sense of empowerment and agency, recognizing that their voices actively shape youth mental health research and solutions,” said Program Director Mariana Jimenez.

The program follows a Youth Participatory Action Research lens, meaning young people actively investigate issues that directly affect them and their peers. Through this approach, participants aim to understand the issue and subsequently work toward finding solutions and enacting change at all levels throughout their communities.

Students work together to figure out what they would like to focus their research on.

“By engaging in open discussions and awareness initiatives, students help to reduce mental health stigma within their communities,” said Jimenez. “They also develop essential coping skills, mental health knowledge and self-help strategies that empower them to make informed choices and support their peers effectively.”

Program participants earn at least 12 hours of community service and meet virtually every week to work on their project. Students develop research, data analysis and public speaking skills. Students then take the results from the survey and present it to educators, policymakers and community members, aiming to influence future policies to reflect what students need.

Participants are supported by trained mentors who guide students through the program and offer academic and emotional support as they touch on sensitive subjects surrounding their peers’ mental wellbeing.

The AIM Scientific Advisory Board, composed of mental health researchers, also help guide and inform the survey and ensure the quality of the research, according to Jimenez. “This access to professionals actively shaping the future of youth mental health allows students to approach complex topics with confidence,” she said.

Around 150 students will be accepted to participate in the program across the five counties. Through their participation, students will “see how their voices and insights can influence real-world mental health solutions,” said Jimenez. “The AIM Ideas Lab equips students with the tools, confidence and support to make lasting impacts on mental health in their schools and communities.”

For more information, visit https://aimymh.org/empowering-youth/aim-idea-lab/.