The mini grant program is a “packaged” version of our suicide prevention, mental health, and substance use prevention curriculum delivered in the form of an Annual Film Contest. Participating groups apply for this program and receive educational resources about mental health, suicide prevention, and substance use, plus personalized support for filmmaking. Students in the mini grant program apply lessons from the Youth Creating Change curriculum to create their own mental health, substance use prevention, and/or suicide prevention film projects. Mini grant teams also plan and host a youth-led awareness event tied to either mental health, suicide prevention, or both, at which their films are screened. Through participation in the mini grant program and use of the curriculum, groups receive funding that can be used to support filmmaking, their awareness event, or other activities that support youth wellness.
Our Shared Reflections
Youth at Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula shared their Directing Change films with peers through classroom presentations, inviting students to reflect on the mental health and suicide prevention topics explored in the films. Students wrote their reflections on strips of paper, then participated in a quiz during recess the following day to reinforce learning about substance use and mental health. Students could earn prizes and contribute additional reflections to a paper chain. The completed chain was displayed at the school’s Open House, creating a visible representation of students’ collective learning, perspectives, and commitment to mental health awareness and suicide prevention for families and the broader school community.
Sharing Films and Experiences with Local Government
The City of Salinas Youth Council shared their films at the city’s annual State of the City Address, engaging the Mayor, City Council, and community members around local issues explored through their projects. Following the event, the films were shown on a continuous loop at a resource table, where community members could learn more about the projects and speak directly with Youth Council members about their work. This created an opportunity for young people to share their perspectives with local leaders and the broader community while fostering dialogue around issues that matter to youth.
Spearheading New Clubs on Campus
Greenfield High School in Monterey County used mini grant funding to launch a campus film club for students interested in writing, producing, and creating films. To share their mental health and substance use PSAs, the Greenfield High Film Club partnered with the school’s annual art show, screening their films in the library alongside artwork created by their peers. The collaboration gave students an opportunity to share their creative work with a broader school audience while sparking conversations about mental health and substance use in a setting that celebrated youth expression and creativity.
“I learned a lot about being the president of film club, managing the club, and researching our topics including mental health awareness, substance use, and suicide prevention. It allowed me to learn a lot about myself and how I view and perceive these topics, and a lot about my own community and how these topics are viewed there.”
– Student, Greenfield High School
Rock Painting
San Dimas High School’s Mental Health Club created films for the Directing Change mini-grant program and hosted a lunchtime screening in the school’s media center, open to all students. Along with pizza and build-your-own sodas, the club provided mental health resources and fidgets from Youth Creating Change. Students were then invited to paint a positive rock to take with them as a reminder of the films’ messages and the personal growth they experienced throughout the year. Some students also donated their rocks to the school’s wellness center rock garden, creating a lasting display of hope and encouragement for their peers.
Integrating Wellness into the School Community
Notre Dame High School in Monterey County hosted a schoolwide film screening during its morning assembly, featuring films created by the freshman seminar class for the Directing Change Program on mental health and substance use. Following the screening, students and staff were invited to discuss the films and their messages. All attendees received green ribbons and sensory stickers to take home as reminders of the conversation. Later that week, during finals, the group extended its focus on student well-being by hosting campus wellness activities, including yoga and visits with therapy cows. Together, these activities created multiple opportunities for students to engage with mental health, connect with one another, and practice healthy strategies for managing stress.
A Self-Care Event:
Art Walk and Sensory Garden
All Souls World Language Catholic School hosted an on-campus, outdoor art gallery titled “Hope, Help, Heal” that students, their families, and community members could walk through for one afternoon. Art pieces created by 6-8th grade students included painted works about expressing emotions, screenings of short films about mental health, chalk artwork with positive affirmations and recreations of famous paintings, musical performances, and a large centerpiece installation with masks that each student created earlier in the school year. Throughout the outdoor gallery space were tables with resources about mental health and suicide prevention as well as areas for self-care, including a yoga station, a sensory garden, and a green ribbon tree activity.
Getting the whole school involved with door decorating!
All grades at Ready Springs K-8 School received weekly lessons on mental health and suicide prevention over the course of the month. Their month culminated in a door decorating contest, in which each classroom created a design around suicide prevention, mental health, or coping skills and every student contributed a piece to their door. Every classroom then had strategies, resources, and messages of hope for students, teachers, and parents to look at as they walked around campus.
Mental health, LGBTQ health, and allyship
The Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) from Sage Creek High School expanded their awareness event from a day to a week, with guest speakers throughout the week that gave talks about how to be ally and the importance of allyship to the LGBTQ+ community, especially for student well-being. Directing Change films about mental health and suicide prevention within the LGBTQ community were screened mid-week, which had biggest turnout (double the number of students showing up than previous days!) Goody bags with mental health journals were also given out to those who had consistently shown up during the week. They ended the celebration with a game day on Friday, promoting knowledge about LGBTQ+ terms and history.
An interactive mural… and a permanent mural!
Oakdale Junior High School Alliance Club held a Mental Health Awareness Day on campus that they called “Celebrate Your Reasons for Living.” The event included an interactive post-it note mural project, an art show, face painting, screenings of student suicide prevention films, and games. The interactive mural asked youth to write down their reasons for living on post-it notes and create a mural out of the different colored post-its. In addition, community organizations and their local high school joined the event and provided resources for students. At the end of the month, the Alliance Club also painted a permanent mural on their campus to share a message of inclusion and connection for future students.
A Local Movie Theater Screening Event
Johansen High School hosted their first Film Fest at a local movie theater. Friends and families joined to watch and experience the Johansen High School Video Arts student-produced short films for Directing Change. Admission was free, and over 150 people joined the event. Materials provided by the Directing Change team were provided to visitors at the movie theater entrance. Students were thrilled to see their films on the big screen and to share the films with others from the community!