Youth Wellness Zones: Early Outcomes of a Place-Based, Collective Impact Approach

GOAL

To develop recommendations for enacting hyperlocal, collective impact approaches (Zones) as sustainable, government-enabled solutions to the ongoing youth mental health crisis.

Background

In the United States, approximately 6 million children and adolescents experience anxiety, 5.5 million struggle with behavioral health challenges, and 3 million suffer from depression (CDC, 2023). More than half of these young people will not be able to access appropriate care given current infrastructure and system shortcomings. Provider workforce shortages, distrust in formal medical treatment systems, and limited accessibility to suitable levels of care highlight the necessity of incorporating new, innovative approaches to support youth wellbeing.

A statewide collaboration, generously funded by a Washington State legislative proviso, was established over the past year. The goal of this partnership was to establish whether and how a community-led, embedded collective impact approach could create positive change in youth mental and behavioral health in Washington State.