The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) is reimagining the way California serves young people and families. It’s a transformation that is created for, with, and by our youth. Youth at the Center spotlights the many young people who are helping create that change through their involvement in CYBHI youth advisory groups and shaping this work at every level, from planning to implementation and evaluation. 

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There’s such a big connection between mental and physical health. 

I struggled with both growing up. But people were always like “You’re faking it. It’s not real. There’s no sign of anything wrong with you.” I learned through my work with the Live Beyond campaign and my own medical journey that a lot of my physical health struggles are caused by the trauma that I went through and my own mental health.

ACEs are Adverse Childhood Experiences, which are potentially traumatic things that happen to you when you’re young. Things like abuse, neglect and other challenges can create toxic stress that can have long-lasting effects on your physical and mental health. Through the Live Beyond campaign, we’re educating the public, families, youth and medical providers on how these ACEs in our childhood can impact our mental health today. 

Through the Live Beyond campaign, we’re getting the word out to help people understand what ACEs are, how they can affect your life and how you can deal with their potential health impacts.

By doing that, we can help get rid of the stigma around trauma and mental health in the first place, so people can feel comfortable talking about their personal experiences and asking for help when they need it.

I first heard about the Youth and Young Adult Advisory Council for the Live Beyond Campaign through an organization called California Youth Connection. It’s a youth-led organization run by current and former foster youth who are trying to change the foster care and intersecting systems. Around that time, I had recently begun a deep dive into my own health and trauma and how they relate. When I heard what the Office of the California Surgeon General wanted to do with the Live Beyond campaign, I got really excited. So I reached out, applied and was lucky enough to be able to work with them.

On the Youth Advisory Council, we’re helping to guide the campaign so they can most effectively connect to young people. We use our lived experiences as youth and as people who have navigated trauma and our own mental health struggles and the health care system to advise the campaign on the best ways to catch young people’s attention, educate them and make them feel comfortable with the topic.

We’re helping the campaign create all sorts of ways to connect with young people, like social media posts, flyers and many other kinds of content. And from the beginning, we’ve focused on putting youth front and center. It’s so important to have authentic pictures and videos of people who are personally affected by our cause. 

The council has been involved at every level, from choosing the colors and logo to picking out what kind of pictures may resonate most, the campaign slogan, the hashtags, everything. We spent multiple sessions trying to identify what approaches reach youth the best. That included pushing them to consider alternative ways to get the message out, like embedding art, unique partnerships, sponsorships, events and other creative ways. 

Too often, kids don’t feel heard. They’re excluded from a lot of important conversations that involve their current lives and their futures, because other people often think they’re too young to understand or fully grasp the issue. The Live Beyond campaign is a stepping stone for youth to become full-fledged leaders and advocates. And along the way, we’re healing as well. 

Before I started doing this work, I really struggled with understanding why so many challenges were happening to me. Why wasn’t I feeling good? Why was I hurting? Why was I sick? Meeting and connecting with other people who’ve gone through the same things gave me a whole new perspective. Being a youth advisor has empowered me and gave me the confidence to look into myself more and really heal. On top of all that, I have these great friends and peers who are walking through this journey with me and congratulating my successes. It’s really a wonderful group.

It only takes one person to really listen to youth, give them a space to contribute and ignite that spark.  

The young people that are involved in initiatives like Live Beyond will carry the confidence they develop into their future, so they can keep leading and advocating and lighting that spark for others.

To learn more about the campaign, visit livebeyondca.org

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Shae Dellamaggiore is a disabled, queer, and non-binary youth living in the foster care system. They grew up in Selma, CA and currently attend high school in Madera. Shae works with Live Beyond to share their experience and educate others about the effects of trauma on children and young adults. They are passionate about the power of activism and technology and are exploring careers in political and computer science. In their free time, Shae participates in crocheting, sewing, opera, social clubs, community service, and much more.