Youth Mental Health Corps

Program Description:  

Youth Mental Health Corps (YMHC) launched in 2024 to address two interconnected challenges: the growing need for youth mental health support and the need to build a strong pipeline of young people into behavioral health and related careers. Developed by the Schultz Family Foundation and Pinterest, this multi-sector initiative is grounded in the belief that young people, who have been disproportionately affected by the nation’s ongoing mental health crisis, can also play an important role in addressing it.  

The YMHC recruits and trains young adults to serve as peer and near-peer mental health navigators in schools and community settings while building a community-grown talent pipeline into the behavioral health workforce. Members provide nonclinical support by helping young people build healthy habits and coping skills, connect to mental health and other community resources, develop healthy norms and practices around social media use, and navigate challenges affecting their well-being.  

The YMHC is unique in its design as both a service and workforce development model.  While addressing immediate community needs, members earn a stipend and an education award while gaining hands-on experience, training, credentials, and in some programs, college credit that can support continued education and pathways into behavioral health careers. 

Impact:  

The YMHC expands the capacity of schools and community organizations to support youth mental health and wellbeing while developing a diverse talent pipeline into the behavioral health field. Early indicators from the initiative’s first year found that 91 percent of YMHC alumni credited their service with furthering their professional goals, 82 percent reported an interest in pursuing a behavioral health career, and 92 percent were employed or enrolled in higher education six months after completing their service. 

Since its launch, the YMHC has trained approximately 1,000 members who have reached more than 44,000 youth and community members. During the first two years of the initiative, YMHC members served at 440 sites across 11 states: California, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.  

In the 2026-27 program, the YMHC will expand to Arkansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Additional states are actively planning to launch in 2027, including Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington, which would bring the YMHC to more than half of U.S. states.

Population Served:  

YMHC members must be 18-29 to serve. Members primarily work with middle and high school students, though some may also serve young people up to 29 years old.  

Learn more here.

Page last updated in August 2026