Raise Your Voice Clubs

Raise Your Voice Club at Rhinelander High School

Raise Your Voice is a club that empowers teens to create a new conversation about mental health through education, leadership development, and civic advocacy.  It is NOT a therapy group or place to get diagnosed; instead, it is an opportunity for students to lead the way in educating their peers about mental health resources and informing community leaders about youth needs.  RYV members plan and lead events both on and off campus.  They are trained in basic suicide prevention and collaborate with the county health department on local initiatives.  Let your peers and adults hear your concerns and ideas!

1. Empowers young people to speak up and create an open dialogue about mental health
2. Creates a community that works to reduce stigma on campus
3. Promotes acceptance for students living with or who know someone who is living with a mental health condition
4. Cultivates youth leaders around civic advocacy at the local, state and national levels
5. Develops youth leadership

State Of Teen Mental Health In Wisconsin

The high school years and the transition from high school to college are critical periods in the lives of young people.

State and federal priorities have identified a significant need to expand services and interventions for transition-age youth (ages 14 to 24) and provide early intervention. But, a gap remains — giving a voice to the young people themselves. There is no statewide initiative to cultivate youth leaders in the area of mental health in Wisconsin. California is the only state that has developed a youth mental health leadership curriculum. NAMI Wisconsin has use the experience from California to develop Raise Your Voice (RYV), a program that is designed specifically for Wisconsin young people.

A Solution… A Club Dedicated to Increasing Mental Illness Awareness, Inspiring Advocacy and Promoting Acceptance.

Information Source: NAMI

WELCOMING STUDENTS WHO

• Are a family member or a friend of someone with a mental health condition
• Have an interest in mental health awareness and advocacy
• Live with a mental health condition
• Are interested in pursuing a career in mental health

RYV CLUB IS NOT

• A support or therapy group
• A place to get diagnosed
• About identifying or labeling others who may or may not have a mental illness

STUDENT BENEFITS

• Develops leadership skills and become mental health advocates
• Expands awareness of mental health and wellness
• Impacts peers

SCHOOL & COMMUNITY BENEFITS

• Offers an ongoing forum (club) that focuses on raising mental health awareness and education
• Establishes a school as a place that values mental wellness for all
• Reduces stigma and discrimination against mental illness

Investing in youth leadership enables future leaders to take control of the conversation and advocate to change the way people in Wisconsin think about youth mental health.