LETTERS TO STRANGERS

Teachers' Handbook for Youth Mental Health

Changemaker: Diana Chao

Country of Implementation: International

SMF WONDER GRANTEE

50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24, yet few mental health education resources are comprehensively designed for youth. Letters to Strangers (L2S), the largest global youth-for-youth mental health nonprofit sought to fill this gap by publishing the world's first youth-for-youth mental health guidebook in November 2019. The guidebook has already sold out of two print runs and been

purchased by several school districts, libraries, and community health centers. Now, L2S is working on a

teacher's handbook to supplement the guidebook for educators around the world to use as they bring the

guidebook to their classrooms for inclusive, in-depth, and action-based mental health education. Working

with a panel of diverse, expert educators and medical professionals, this handbook takes the research and

heart of the guidebook and adds onto it, creating a full-package service for school districts to use as more

and more people begin to recognize the necessity of implementing mental health education into their

curricula.

For more information, visit: www.LetterstoStrangers.org