Funded Projects

Multimedia Mental Health Toolkit for Latinos

Project Year

2025

City & State

Indianapolis, Indiana

Program Name

CATCH Implementation

Topic

Adolescent Health

Program Description

In Indiana, the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that 49% of Hispanic youth reported feeling sad or hopeless almost daily for at least two weeks, significantly disrupting their usual activities and placing them at heightened risk for developing conditions such as depression, and anxiety. This statistic underscores the mental health crisis among Latine youth and highlights the urgent need for culturally and linguistically relevant resources to address their vulnerabilities.   This project will address these disparities by developing a multimedia mental health toolkit tailored to Latine teens and families in Indianapolis. The primary goals are to increase awareness, improve mental health outcomes, and strengthen community partnerships. This initiative represents a collaborative effort between a pediatrician, community organizations, and youth leaders to bridge gaps in care and reduce stigma surrounding mental health.  The cornerstone of the project will be a partnership with the Latino Youth Collective, a local non-profit organization that leads a summer Academy for Media Arts, Science, & Technology. The academy employs Participatory Action Research (PAR), a methodology rooted in collaboration, critical reflection, and community-driven change. Its curriculum equips youth with the tools to conduct research, engage in community organizing, and create impactful multimedia content. Through this program, Latine youth participants will create five high-quality multimedia projects, each focused on a specific mental health topic.   To maximize the reach and impact of these projects, the initiative will partner with additional organizations, including Southeast Indy and Hawthorne Center. These community centers, which have previously collaborated with Dr. Guerrero, bring valuable expertise and connections to Latine families in Indianapolis. Each multimedia project will involve input and collaboration from these and other community organizations, ensuring that the content is both culturally relevant and widely disseminated. They will identify the topics of focus, such as (1) depression and eating disorders, (2) accessing therapy and medical treatment, and (3) navigating stigma within the community.  The distribution strategy for the multimedia content includes multiple channels to ensure accessibility and sustainability. Content will be shared through partner organizations, promoted on social media platforms, and incorporated into a broader Latine immigrant mental health toolkit currently in development. This broader toolkit, currently being designed by a master’s student at the Herron School of Art and Design under Dr. Guerrero’s mentorship, will include a range of resources to support Latine families and will be distributed to organizations serving immigrant communities throughout Indianapolis. By integrating multimedia projects into this broader toolkit, the initiative ensures that the resources will remain accessible and impactful long after the initial project period.  Anticipated outcomes for this project include increased access to culturally tailored mental health resources that can be shared with Latine families, reduced stigma surrounding mental health within Indianapolis’ Latine communities, and enhanced capacity for sustainable, community-driven mental health interventions. By empowering youth to create content, the project amplifies their voices and positions them as advocates for change in their own communities.  This initiative is rooted in the belief that community-led solutions are critical to addressing systemic inequities in mental health care. The project not only addresses a pressing need but also fosters meaningful social change by building capacity within the community. By equipping Latine teens and families with culturally relevant tools and reducing barriers to mental health care, this effort has the potential to improve the wellbeing of immigrant communities in Indianapolis.  Through this CATCH-funded project, the collaboration between healthcare providers, community organizations, and youth leaders will serve as a model for addressing mental health disparities in underserved populations. The innovative use of multimedia and the integration of community voices ensure that the project will have a lasting impact.

Project Goal

To increase access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health resources for Latine teens and families in Indianapolis, fostering awareness, reducing stigma, and strengthening community capacity for addressing mental health needs. 

Project Objective 1

Develop High-Quality Multimedia Projects: By December 2025, create five culturally relevant multimedia projects focused on specific mental health topics, including depression, suicidality, substance use, and accessing treatment services, developed collaboratively with youth from Latino Youth Collective. 

Project Objective 2

Incorporate Resources into a Sustainable Toolkit: By February 2026, integrate the multimedia projects into the Latino immigrant mental health toolkit, ensuring long-term accessibility for organizations serving Latine families, with a distribution plan that reaches at least 10 community-based organizations across Indianapolis.  

Project Objective 3

Engage Community Organizations in Dissemination: By April 2026, establish partnerships with at least five additional community organizations to provide feedback on the multimedia projects and disseminate the content through their networks, ensuring equitable access to resources for underserved Latine families.

AAP District

District V

Institutional Name

Latino Youth Collective Of Indiana

Contact 1

Natalie Guerrero, MD, PhD