PHOTO: Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth-led Mental Health Movement
Active Minds, the nation’s leading nonprofit mobilizing youth and young adults to change the culture around mental health so that it is valued and prioritized in society, today announced a major national expansion of long-term mental health and digital wellbeing programming aimed at equipping 100,000 youth and young adults with the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to take action for mental health. Supported by $5 million in funding from Google’s philanthropic arm Google.org, the youth-led initiative will catalyze teen advocacy and engagement in 154 high schools across the country.
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
Youth and young adults today are growing up in a world where technology and AI are woven into how they learn, play, and connect. This newly scaled initiative builds the foundational digital safety skills, personal agency, and robust peer support networks they need to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape, while also prioritizing their mental health. By bridging the gap between youth voices and decision-makers, the program ensures students can utilize emerging digital tools responsibly and effectively to foster positive, safe environments for education, innovation, and community connection.
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
With the funding from Google.org, Active Minds will expand access to its national programs, helping ensure more youth and young adults have opportunities to develop mental health literacy, strengthen peer networks, and build the confidence to advocate for wellbeing in their communities.
Active Minds Speakers Bureau: Trained presenters share personal mental health journeys and practical strategies that empower students, educators, and communities to recognize signs of distress, strengthen connections, and build cultures of support.
Send Silence Packing®: With this nationally recognized immersive exhibit, youth voices and stories serve as a catalyst to join the mental health movement, encouraging participants to confront stigma, deepen empathy, and take action for mental health for themselves, their peers, and their communities.
The new support will also ensure that, through The Active Minds Program Fund, communities of color, rural communities, under-resourced schools, and youth-serving organizations can bring evidence-informed mental health experiences to their students regardless of budget constraints.
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
“Youth and young adults are navigating an increasingly complex world where mental health, technology, and connection are deeply intertwined,” said Alison Malmon, Founder and Executive Director of Active Minds. “This support from Google.org allows us to significantly expand our work, ensuring that more young people have access to the stories, resources, and peer connections that help them feel seen, supported, and equipped to take action for mental health in their communities.”
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
To ground this nationwide effort in local community action, Active Minds and Google officially launched the initiative in California alongside Assemblymember John Harabedian and community organizations, including the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) and the Eaton Fire Collaborative. The local announcement focused on communities directly impacted by the devastating 2025 Fire.
“The youth of Pasadena Unified School District have shown immense resilience in the wake of last year’s devastating Eaton Fire, but we cannot overlook the profound, compounding pressures they face navigating both community recovery and a complex digital world,” said Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena). “Through this long-term programming, Active Minds and Google.org provide students with the skills to navigate digital pressures and advocate for their own wellbeing with localized peer support systems. This empowers them to play an active, vital role in building community resilience. I am proud to see the future leaders of California at the forefront of this movement, using their voices to inform the policies that govern our state and shape a healthier, safer future both online and off.”
During the event, high school students participated in an interactive mental health and self-advocacy workshop where they brainstormed community needs that a local artist simultaneously translated into a live mural. This student-led activity directly informed a subsequent panel discussion on local recovery, where students’ specific ideas were discussed by community and industry leaders. By tailoring the national curriculum to address localized stressors, the program establishes a reproducible blueprint for building emotional resilience and localized peer support systems where it’s needed most.
“At Google, we believe that child safety and digital wellbeing warrant unique, proactive protections,” said Dr. Megan Jones Bell, Senior Director of Clinical at Google. “By supporting Active Minds to put youth at the center of this movement, we are championing student-led leadership that shifts the paradigm toward proactive empowerment and long-term resilience. Ultimately, this launch gives the next generation of leaders the personal agency and foundational safety tools they need to confidently navigate and shape a healthy digital future.”
PHOTO Active Minds | The South Pasadenan | National Youth led Mental Health Movement
The Google.org support for Active Minds is part of Google’s commitment to leading the way in helping families build safe, healthy, and productive relationships with technology, a mission that continues to expand through a holistic approach to digital wellbeing. By supporting esteemed organizations through its digital wellbeing fund, Google helps create high-quality, educational, and fun experiences that help kids and teens to explore and grow. Beyond this support, Google is intentionally building products and offering robust parental controls that ensure the next generation has the tools they need to safely and confidently navigate the world’s information.
To learn more about Active Minds, visit activeminds.org.