SAN ANTONIO – A crucial survey created by teens, for teens, is now out in Bexar County.
The Teen Mental Health Survey is a huge way the City of San Antonio determines where to allocate money and services.
This is the third survey, which is rewritten and released every two years.
“I’m very proud of myself for having done this, but I feel like other teens don’t know that they can have this opportunity,” said Brandeis High School junior Mariella Contreras.
Contreras is a member of the City of San Antonio’s Project Worth Teen Ambassador Program.
The team does a lot of community work, including helping the San Antonio Youth Commission create the Teen Mental Health survey.
“Knowing that it’s for teens, made by teens, that will definitely make them more open to answering the questions freely,” Contreras said.
The results from past surveys in 2022 and 2024 have created real change, including a partnership with the Center for Health Care Services, and full-day teen resource events.
“They actually were able to pass out micro-grants to schools and counselors to help work with teens that are dealing with those mental health challenges,” said City of San Antonio health program specialist Nicholas Garcia.
Garcia helps oversee Project Worth and said the most recent survey just went out and will close April 20.
The survey is for youth 12-19 years old in San Antonio and Bexar County and only takes minutes to complete.
It asks a series of questions written by teenagers themselves, including:
How would you rate your mental health overall?
Who would you most likely go to first if you were struggling with a mental health issue?
What are some activities or things that have been most helpful for your mental health recently?
Once the results are compiled at the end of September, the teens will head to City Council.
“So that we can come up with programs, policy changes, and resources to push out for the youth in San Antonio,” Garcia explained.
However, the task now is trying to get the word out, creating flyers to distribute at schools and posting trendy reels on social media.
“The teens, we’re finding them where they already are,” Contreras said.
Contreras has experienced mental health issues before and knows how important it is for kids to feel heard.
“It’s very, very important that they take the survey, so we understand, like, the challenges and that we want to help,” she said. “It is made for you by people like you.”
Contreras feels pride in the work she and her friends have put in and now hopes her peers will open up and take the survey.
Any parents who come across the survey are being asked to pass it along to their teen.
The survey on the city’s website is open until April 20.
Read also:
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.