About Directing Change

Directing Change is a statewide film/art campaign and curriculum designed to prevent suicide, reduce stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, and promote the mental health and wellness of students. Directing Change takes a different approach to educating students about critical mental health topics. Reading about important health topics is one thing, but to create a 60-second film or other art medium about a topic, be respectful, and think deeply about impacting the opinion of their peers requires a level of engagement that has lasting impact. This process can work to change conversations and thinking in schools and communities.

Through this “hands-on” approach, Directing Change asks youth to apply knowledge to formulate and create their own unique message for their peers via an art medium (video, music, poetry, etc.). The creative process requires youth to synthesize their knowledge that yields a deeper level of understanding. Youth are challenged on a monthly basis through “art prompts” to critically analyze key components of health related topics and determine how best to communicate messages. Once created, the art will be used in schools and communities to raise awareness, start conversations and impact social change.

Directing Change can help to support existing suicide prevention training identified in local policy by being incorporated into existing classroom curriculum and/or by being utilized as part of after-school or extracurricular programming. More importantly, Directing Change can provide students with valuable tools to help recognize the warning signs of suicide and to support someone in need – and ultimately change the conversation about mental health in families, schools and communities to increase help-seeking.

Ways to Engage with Directing Change

Please contact Kara Connors (kconnors@marincounty.org) to learn more about Directing Change or to indicate your interest in participating.