What Is This Unique Program?

Transitional Age Youth (individuals between the ages of 16 and 29) experience specific socio-cultural challenges that increase their risk of developing a mental illness. Youth in this age range must transition from child-serving systems to adult-serving systems, and there are often emotional, psychological, and social struggles associated with this time of change that daunt even the most well-equipped youth. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 50% of all lifetime mental health challenges began by the time a person is 14 years old, 75% by 24 years old, and rates of mental illness among youth had been on the rise for over a decade. During the isolation and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges among U.S. transitional age youth have increased disproportionately to the U.S. population in general, and disparities are even worse among youth from historically underserved populations, such as BIPOC youth, LGBTQ+ youth, low-income youth, unhoused youth, youth with disabilities, and youth involved in child welfare and justice systems.

What’s Included?

NAMI Contra Costa’s Transitional Age Youth (TAY) program consists of the Transitional Age Youth support group and the Ending the Silence program. The support group provides a safe, confidential, and free support space for any young adult between the ages of 16 and 29 who is living with or has been affected by mental illness. This support group encourages healthy coping mechanisms, mindset reframing strategies, and self-acceptance. The Ending the Silence (ETS) program is a workshop in which trained TAY coordinators and local peers present at middle schools and high schools about their personal mental health stories in addition to general mental health information.

Through the support group, both facilitators and peers find comfort in sharing their experiences and provide solidarity by accompanying each other on our mental health journeys. Our peer-support system ensures that our TAY participants know they have a reliable support network throughout the week and an understanding ear every Tuesday evening. The ETS program destigmatizes mental illness and teaches youth about the signs and symptoms of common mental illnesses at a time in which many people begin to experience mental health challenges for the first time. This allows youth to recognize the signs of mental illness in both themselves, their peers, and their loved ones while simultaneously equipping them to cope and support those individuals and to seek out help from others.