UPLIFT Livestream Peer Support Training on YouTube!
March 18, 2023
March 18, 2023
According to the most recent Mental State of the World Report from Sapien Labs, young adults around the world are experiencing a generational decline of social connectedness with family and friends, in addition to a significant drop in mental health. Mental Health America states that an alarming number of children with depression are not receiving any mental health treatment – a staggering 60% – which is compounded by the serious shortage of child psychiatrists in the United States – an 80% deficit. This paints an alarming picture of a mental health crisis that is growing in the US and beyond.
We don’t need the research to tell us that — if you have young adults in your life, you have heard firsthand stories of despair. So how can we help families and youth in need? Youth Era, an organization that I have worked alongside for over a decade, has a solution. It’s a solution that is not only rooted in peer support, but has been studied by the University of Oxford and has proven results: increased capacity for peer support. Youth Era’s program, called Uplift, is a 4-day interactive live training for high schoolers that is hosted over Zoom. Over the past year, the Oregon Health Authority has sponsored high school students to be trained.
Youth Era is attempting to widen its reach with its upcoming training. Instead of 4 days, the training will be condensed into 2 hours and hosted on YouTube Live to increase accessibility and create a low-barrier opportunity for young people. The goal of the event is to spread awareness about mental health issues and help give youth the tools they need to support each other. Normally, we could all get on board with providing high school students with the knowledge and skills they need to recognize warning signs for their peers and offer help. Yet given the shortage of clinicians and no sign of that changing soon, this event might be one of the only ways to reach them.
Youth Era’s event is free and will feature interactive activities, guest speakers, and content from experts on how to effectively offer help and support to those around you. The production quality is top-notch and hosted in their three-story broadcast studio.
If you work with youth or have a young person in your life, you can register for this free event at
It is unlike any other event I’ve ever been to; you won’t be disappointed.
Ally Linfoot, Head of Peer Support, Flourish Labs, is a an experienced Peer Services System Planner with a long history of working in government administration and nonprofit organizations. Ally is a strong systems development professional with a focus in mental health and substance use recovery, prevention and health promotion activities.