NC Healthy Transitions has taken a creative approach to evaluating the youth voice and choice philosophy and the experiences of youth within the community. We want to know in what ways youth feel that they have a voice in the community, especially as it relates to accessing mental health services and supports; what support they still need; and to what degree the NC Healthy Transitions project has improved community awareness of youth needs. The Photovoice Project to helps to answer these questions.
With Photovoice, youth take daily photos of their life related to the the question “What does Mental Healthy look like in your life?” for four weeks. Youth then participate in a focus group to show their photos and give context to the images. The final stage is a traveling display of photos and quotes from the participants. This project supports people in understanding the lived experiences and priorities related to youth voice and choice in the community and highlights community awareness of youth mental health support needs.