Nevada youth participate in 3-day mental wellness conference

RENO, Nev. — This past week, roughly 800 high schoolers involved in leadership from across the state participated in a three-day conference to learn and talk about mental health in youth.

"We all struggle with our mental health on a daily basis, and we know people who have struggled with it and who are trying to learn ways to help themselves and help their peers," Teen Co-chair at the Northern Nevada chapter of Hope Means Nevada Addison Clark said.

On Friday, the multi-day conference culminated in a massive event at the Discovery Museum's 'Mind Matters' exhibit, where about 1,000 students and local youth were given 'event passports' containing several activities they had to complete at the interactive exhibit.

"When you have those conversations, that's when you can start to see that change. You can start to see that it's okay to talk about mental health and it's okay to ask for help if you need it," CEO of the Children's Cabinet Kim Young said.

Once a student was able to complete all of the activities on their 'event passport', they could turn it in for a t-shirt that they can now wear to a number of local businesses to get a discount.

There were also various local support organizations tabling at the event and letting students know about the resources they offer.

"We're just getting the word out there on Safe Place. We want as many adults to know that Safe Place exists, and that they can reach out to us whenever they need to," Outreach Case Manager at Safe Place Michelle Santos said.

Friday's event was hosted by the Discovery Museum, Hope Means Nevada and the Children's Cabinet.

This week's conference was the first of a series of mental wellness events that Hope Means Nevada will be hosting this year, with a back-to-school event coming up sometime around the end of July or the start of August.