Teens in San Joaquin invited to Fresno County's Youth Wellness Summit

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno County is turning to teens to help shape the future of mental health services.

The Department of Behavioral Health is hosting its first Youth Wellness Summit on November 21 in the city of San Joaquin.

The "Your Time, Your Voice Youth Wellness Summit" has three goals.

First, start the conversation about mental wellness.

"Our partners at the Department of Public Health are going to join us and they're going to do a presentation on Social Determinants of Health -- just kind of understanding how all those things that they may be experiencing in a small rural community, in a small farming community may have an impact," explained Division Manager of Public Behavioral Ahmad Bahrami.

The second goal is to empower youth to look into careers in the mental health field to create change.

"A lot of the folks that are going to be helping us out are individuals that actually grew up in our rural communities," said Bahrami.

The final goal is to get feedback about what the county can do better when it comes to access for mental health resources.

"Our Latino youth and rural communities -- like how do we navigate this issue with your family and parents? How do we address language barriers?," asked Bahrami.

The county will create a report following the summit - using it to improve services, as well as present to local or statewide partners.

The event is happening from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Hall, located at 22001 W. Manning Avenue.

It's free to 8-12 graders in San Joaquin.

Breakfast and lunch are provided, plus there are several opportunities to win raffle prizes.

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