Country of Residence
United States
Age
17
Project title
Underheard
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
No young person should have to look like they are struggling to be taken seriously. Underheard tackles mental health stigma through audio stories, mask-making and supportive check-ins. After our $1,000 award funded materials distributed to parents at multiple libraries, supplies ran out. With my original teammate now in college, I am continuing the work and seeking support to replenish materials, involve more young people and build lasting local participation. Participation would be voluntary.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I do not want a young person to have to look like they are struggling before someone takes their feelings seriously. That concern sits at the center of this project: how much do we miss when we mistake someone’s outward appearance for their whole experience? My teammate, Gana Osman, and I developed a stigma-reduction initiative through the Public Health Youth Ambassador Program’s alumni competition. Our proposal won $1,000. We used the full award to buy materials, visited multiple libraries, met parents and distributed supplies. We turned a proposal into something we could bring into our community. The three activities give that purpose a practical form. Audio stories invite people to listen; mask-making explores what appearances conceal; check-in messages help participants choose a more caring response. Students can participate without being asked to expose their private lives. Gana is now in college, and I am continuing the project alone. Our supplies have run out, but I do not want the last item we handed out to mark the end of the work. I am applying to replenish materials and build a team that can carry this further. For me, leadership now means taking responsibility for what happens after the first award and the first round of outreach. I want this effort to continue through shared skills and responsibilities, so it can outlast any one organizer.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Mental health stigma can make an ordinary question feel risky: if I tell someone how I feel, will they see me differently? A young person may fear being dismissed, judged or treated as less capable. Even a well-intentioned peer may not know how to listen or what to say next. Our project addresses that gap between recognizing mental health vocabulary and responding to a person with care. Stigma can surface through jokes, assumptions or pressure to appear unaffected. Someone who seems confident may still need support; someone who stays quiet may have much more to say. My intended community includes young people in Fairfax County, Fairfax City and Falls Church. Our initial library outreach reached parents because the adults around young people also help shape whether conversations feel welcoming. The next phase would create more direct opportunities for youth participation. As a freshman mentor, I care about making it easier for students to ask difficult questions. This initiative applies that commitment to mental health: giving participants ways to listen, express themselves and recognize appropriate support. The goal is a more thoughtful response when someone chooses to speak, without requiring anyone to disclose a personal struggle. Parents and students would both have opportunities to question the messages, helping the outreach reflect different experiences.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
I am seeking support to continue our completed library outreach and develop three linked activities that move from listening to expression to action. Silent Frequencies would collect voluntary audio or written reflections about being misunderstood, emotional well-being and support. With clear permission and adult review, selected contributions would form a listening experience. Contributors would know how their work will be used. A written option would let someone participate without sharing a recognizable voice. Behind the Mask would invite students to decorate masks showing the difference between how they appear and how they may feel. Youth-led discussion would explore assumptions and acceptance. Participants could discuss the artwork generally or keep its personal meaning private. Text Me You’re Okay would help students turn empathy into a usable skill. Participants would write and revise sample check-in messages, practice responses to difficult conversations and learn when to involve a trusted adult or qualified professional. Peers would not be asked to diagnose or provide treatment. I would seek host permission and qualified adult guidance before delivery. New funding would replenish supplies and support art materials, printing, recording needs and workshop preparation. Student volunteers would gradually take responsibility for facilitating activities. Brief optional feedback would test whether participants better understand stigma, can identify support and feel more prepared to respond to a peer. If an activity attracts attention without helping participants, I would revise it before expanding. Parents could review take-home messages while students help shape peer-facing content. Materials would identify appropriate local support resources.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Gana and I won $1,000 through a competitive alumni proposal process, spent it on project materials and brought our outreach to multiple libraries. We met parents and distributed the purchased supplies. Those are completed actions, and the supplies are now exhausted. I can show that we used the first award to carry out outreach. I cannot yet claim that distributing materials reduced stigma or changed mental health outcomes. The next phase would build evaluation into the activities so I can learn what participants take away. My planned reach is 400-500 young people directly, with at least 1,000 additional indirect contacts through digital outreach, announcements and community networks. These remain future targets. Unique participants, repeat attendance and online impressions would be recorded separately. Optional before-and-after questions would assess understanding of stigma, comfort discussing mental health and knowledge of appropriate support. Reflections would identify what felt helpful or uncomfortable. The change I want is concrete: a participant questions an assumption, chooses a more thoughtful check-in or knows where to seek further support. Funding would allow me to continue outreach while testing whether the activities help people take those steps. I would retain purchase records and report what new funding made possible, alongside the feedback collected.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
The project asks participants to work with the same issue in three different ways: hear what may go unspoken, express what may remain hidden and practice responding with care. Audio storytelling makes another person’s perspective available through listening. Mask-making gives students a visual way to examine the distance between appearance and emotion. The check-in campaign then turns that reflection into a message they could actually send. Each activity prepares participants for a different part of a conversation. The design also gives students control over how visible they become. Someone could listen without submitting a recording, create a mask without explaining it, or help improve a message without discussing their own health. A project about fear of judgment should not require personal exposure as proof of participation. Our library outreach has already involved parents. I want to extend that foundation into youth-led activities while seeking adult guidance on content and support. The creative direction would remain with young people. These individual methods are established. My proposed contribution is their coordinated use, with participants helping revise what happens next. A check-in that feels intrusive can be rewritten; a prompt that discourages participation can be changed. The project would earn its usefulness through local feedback, rather than assuming that a creative format automatically produces impact. The activities would also produce materials that can be reused: an approved audio collection, workshop prompts and student-reviewed check-in examples. A facilitator guide would record both instructions and lessons from feedback. New volunteers could use that guide to deliver consistent sessions while adapting examples to their audience.
How many people are on your team?
2
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Gana Osman and I developed the original initiative and carried out library outreach. She is now in college, and I am the sole active organizer. I am responsible for moving the next phase forward. I plan to recruit youth leads for storytelling, art and digital outreach, share decisions with them, and seek qualified adult advisers for content and participant support. I would match roles to students’ interests, set clear tasks and arrange reviews so volunteers have a real voice in decisions.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
In the first three months, I would review our initial purchases and outreach, prepare a replenishment budget and seek new funding or donated supplies. I would recruit student collaborators, contact potential library and school hosts, and seek a qualified adult adviser. Supplies would be purchased against an agreed budget, with receipts retained. In months 4-6, I would resume distribution as resources allow and pilot the storytelling, mask-making and check-in activities with small groups. Permission, contribution review and optional evaluation would be arranged before delivery. Participants would help identify unclear or uncomfortable elements. In months 7-12, I would expand the strongest activities through willing schools, libraries and youth organizations, working toward the planned 400-500 direct youth participants. Expansion would follow available funding, trained volunteers and feedback. I would also create reusable instructions and train additional facilitators. Continuing alone has made shared responsibility a priority: I want the next phase to leave other students able to lead. Supporters would receive a clear account of spending, participation and what we learned. Before expanding, I would check that each host has agreed, materials are available and a trained facilitator can lead. The target would guide planning without replacing quality or participant choice.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I would invite students to contribute something specific: edit an approved audio reflection, prepare mask-making materials, improve a check-in message or help welcome participants. A clear task makes joining more approachable than a general request to volunteer. No one would have to share a private struggle to belong. Our first outreach took us to multiple libraries, where Gana and I met parents and distributed supplies. I would build on that experience by approaching libraries again and seeking permission to recruit through schools, community centers and youth organizations. Participants would be invited to question the materials and suggest changes. I would show how their feedback affected an activity, then offer opportunities to take on facilitation or content development. Students should be able to shape the work they are helping deliver. I am currently the sole active organizer; recruitment is a next step. Future participation would be tracked through volunteer contributions and unique attendance, separately from digital impressions. The planned reach is 400-500 young people directly and at least 1,000 additional indirect contacts. I would report actual totals as activities take place. I would offer short introductory tasks before longer commitments and invite volunteers to work in pairs. Follow-up messages would explain upcoming roles and how to join.
