Welcome to May Menta Health Community Challenge!
You have surely been amazed – as have we – with the resiliency that children and teenagers have demonstrated during the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in many cases, young people are the ones guiding us on how to reframe the language and taboos around mental health. They are educating us on social media. They are organizing to request more resources in their schools. They are even fundraising to make sure mental health services are available for all. Just this past year, groups at UNC and at an elementary school in Cary hosted food sales to raise funds for El Futuro.
Children and adolescents want to feel safe, happy, and whole and they are doing the best they can to navigate the pandemic and all of its challenges. However, professionals who work with children are seeing higher-than-ever rates of anxiety, depression and fear. Our physician partners have told us that the number one pediatric referral for children and adolescents right now is for psychological support. This is what we see at El Futuro also: an alarming increase in adolescent cries for help through self-harm, anxiety disorders, and higher rates of destructive problems.
The good news is that when adolescents and their families have access to timely, culturally-sensitive mental health care, we can help to prevent acute crises from transforming into chronic, life-long illnesses.
That is why we are launching our Community Challenge fundraiser this May – because the community – you! – have told us that you’re concerned about children and adolescents and asked us what you can do about it. By joining us during this campaign you are helping us to not only raise $100,000 during the month of May to provide youth mental health services at El Futuro, but also to spread knowledge and inspiration to decrease stigma around mental health. We are so grateful for your support in expanding access for mental health support for youth.
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