El Futuro joined MTV Entertainment Group and more than 700 partners to encourage and empower people to take #MentalHealthAction on Thursday, May 20th.
Also, spread the word so during this month of Mental Health Awareness people know about what we do and how we can help our community.
During this critical moment of the pandemic and the situation with the world economy, El Futuro and 700 other organizations, brands, government agencies, and cultural leaders joined the campaign led by MTV Entertainment Group to celebrate the inaugural Day of Mental Health Action on Thursday. May 20th during Mental Health Awareness Month.
This movement seeks to change the mental culture and encourage the community to take action for the mental health of themselves or the people around them. Cultural and political leaders are among the new partners who are committed to encouraging and empowering their followers, fans, and constituents to take action on their mental health.
At El Futuro we want to make a call to action for you to take control over your mental health. Today we invite you to join us, come to our green space, take a photo either a selfie or with your family and share it on social networks telling us about your mental health action which you want to commit today.
Taking yoga classes, going for a walk with a loved one, talking about your thoughts with someone you trust, supporting a charitable event to help others, etc., are some examples that we share with you so that you can exercise your mental health.
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd
Katy Sims, MD
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated.
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts.
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD