MyT Youth Resilience PSA Project
Maine Youth Thriving (MyT), in partnership with Redbird Media, has launched a powerful public service campaign that amplifies the voices of Maine youth. In these video shorts, youth generously and authentically speak about their challenges, hopes, fears, and what resilience means to them.
While this experience began as an opportunity to elevate youth voices and practice what we preach - listening to learn - it ultimately reveals what youth in our state need from caring adults and their communities in order to thrive. Across diverse perspectives, Maine youth tell of the importance of feeling seen, heard, and valued. Indeed, this meets MyT’s definition of mattering and demonstrates what the research on mattering makes clear: that experiencing mattering is linked with a 65% lower risk of considering suicide and improves lifelong health outcomes.
At MyT, we know that mental health is not just about preventing harm; it is about promoting joy, purpose, and connection. Thanks to the youth participants, Redbird Media, and a generous donation from Sara Gideon for Maine that made this project possible, we can better understand what caring adults and peer communities can actively do to help all young people thrive.
We invite you to take these perspectives seriously and join us in working to build youth resilience across our state. Together, we can:
- Help youth feel less isolated and more valued
- Improve communication between youth, caregivers, and communities
- Build intergenerational trust and healing
- Practice mattering which is directly linked to a lower risk of considering suicide
- Foster a future where every young Mainer can flourish
- Thrive together
Enjoy the PSAs
Messages to Youth
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Messages to Caring Adults
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Spread the Message
Thank you for watching! We hope you are feeling inspired and we invite you to support the project by sharing with your community:
- Share the PSAs - Link this page on your social media, share one of our social media posts, or organize a community screening!
- Bring MyT's PSA Project to your community - Connect with MyT to collaborate on a youth resilience PSA project
- Explore Positive Childhood Experiences - Download our Mental Health Awareness Toolkit for 4 weeks of ideas and content
- Start a conversation about Youth Mattering - Request a free copy of MyT's Youth Mattering Guide and chat with us about how we can support your efforts to engage your community in a conversation about mattering
- Subscribe to MyT's Newsletter - Receive monthly insights and ideas for integrating the science of positivity at home, at work, and in your community
How MyT is Using the PSAs
Youth voice is at the heart of MyT's work - Maine youth perspectives inform our education workshops, trainings, and programs to foster resilience and a sense of mattering in communities across Maine. We are so excited to share the PSAs with young Mainers and the caring adults in their lives as a catalyst for conversation and action. Our vision for bringing these videos into Maine communities is expansive, with opportunities including:
- Facilitating conversations on youth mattering in Maine communities
- Educating and training caring adults on how they can support Maine youth's sense of mattering and build positive relationships, experiences, and environments.
- Launch youth-centered, youth-led projects that engage Maine youth in identifying the supports and challenges they face in cultivating their sense of mattering, and developing action plans with caring adults and community leaders to address their needs.