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Office of Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

The Office of Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing (OYMH) administers funding to schools and youth-serving providers to increase access to mental health and substance use services. OYMH collaborates with other state agencies and community partners to provide training and technical assistance and to identify opportunities to improve youth mental health and wellbeing.
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Mission, Vision, Values

  • Mission: The mission of the Office of Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing (OYMH) is to promote and improve the mental wellness of youth across the Commonwealth – with a particular focus on populations experiencing inequities due to racism and other forms of oppression.

    Our approach to supporting youth mental health and wellbeing includes addressing concerns related to substance misuse and economic or social needs (e.g., food, housing, income). We provide funding, training, and technical assistance to support the youth-serving workforce in schools and communities, invest in approaches that address social influencers of health, and advance policy and practice changes that foster healing-centered environments and increased access to identity-affirming, youth-centered support. We strive to foster meaningful collaboration with youth to ensure our programs and priorities are responsive to youth needs and provide multiple pathways to healing and wellbeing.
     
  • Vision: The Office of Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing envisions a Commonwealth where youth have everything they need to live well and flourish – free from the burdens of racism, poverty, and all forms of oppression and discrimination. In this future, youth have equitable access to a full continuum of quality mental health and substance use services that are responsive to their lived experiences, individual preferences, and needs.
  • Values:
    • Racial and Social Justice: We are committed to advancing racial and social justice as key strategies to improving mental health and wellness for youth across the Commonwealth.
    • Self Determination and Youth Centered Care: We believe in the inherent right of youth to make informed choices about their health and wellness and support youth-centered strategies that empower them to do so.
    • Youth Engagement and Partnership: We promote collaboration with youth who are most impacted by inequities to develop solutions that are informed by the knowledge of their lived/living experience.
    • Multiple Pathways to Wellness: We invest in a range of programs and services that are responsive to diverse lived experiences, needs, and preferences, including those that honor and integrate the identities and traditions of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.
    • Healing Centered Approaches: We support strengths-based approaches that restore people’s sense of power and autonomy; address the root causes of trauma; and foster hope, community, and belonging.
    • System and Policy Change: We work to change the policies and systems that foster inequities and create barriers to care.
    • Sustainability: Guided by data and evidence-informed practices, we support school and community capacities to create meaningful and lasting change.

Supporting Mental Wellness

  • What is Mental Health and Wellbeing?
    Mental health is a core component of overall health and includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Everyone has mental health – not just those with diagnosed mental illnesses. Mental health includes our ability to understand and regulate our emotions, empathize with others, develop healthy relationships, cope with stress, and adapt to challenges. It also includes aspects of our cognitive and psychological functioning that can affect our memory, decision making, and ability to engage in everyday life. Importantly, mental health also includes our relationship with substances like drugs or alcohol. Substance misuse often co-occurs with challenges related to our mental health or emotional wellbeing and can sometimes impact our brain in ways that lead to dependence or addiction.
  • What is Mental Health Promotion?
    Mental health promotion focuses on strategies that improve the quality of life for large populations of people by addressing underlying issues in our society that place us at higher risk for poor mental health. Mental health promotion is different than mental health treatment as it is not focused on supporting individuals with specific diagnoses or conditions, and often requires policy and systems changes that improve living conditions and reduce risks. This can include expanding access to affordable housing and economic security as well as addressing issues like racism and discrimination. Learn more about how those issues impact our mental health. Mental health promotion also includes supporting social connection and helping people build the skills they need to better manage their mental health and wellbeing. Learn more about mental health promotion.
  • What can I do to support my mental health?
    Research shows that the tips below are helpful avenues for maintaining and improving our mental health. These avenues can be used together to promote holistic healing and should honor your identity, culture, and values. For additional information on mental health services in Massachusetts, please visit our resource page.
    • Sleep and Rest – Quality sleep is important to supporting our mental health, while rest is a restorative practice that goes beyond sleep to support wellbeing. In addition to quality sleep, taking mental breaks from tasks throughout your day and getting sensory rest from screen-time are examples of practices you can integrate to counter exhaustion.
    • Mindfulness - Mindfulness is the practice of being present in order to calm the mind, reduce stress, ease pain, and more. Mindfulness activities include (but are not limited to) breathing exercises, body scans, and meditation.
    • Physical activity - Physical activity has many benefits and can be tailored to fit your lifestyle. Physical activity can range in cost, intensity, time commitment, and location.
    • Diet and nutrition - Diet and nutrition play a big role in supporting brain functioning and mental wellness. A healthy diet looks different for everyone due to considerations like cost, local availability, and preferences informed by culture.
    • Hobbies - Hobbies are leisurely activities done for pleasure and are often beneficial for reducing stress, strengthening focus, and improving moods.
    • Community - Community is used to describe connection and belonging with other people. Feeling accepted and supported enhances one’s quality of life. You may spend time with family, friends, or seek out groups that bring people together around shared identities, interests, or experiences.
    • Civic engagement – Civic engagement can include community building, volunteering, and other forms of public advocacy. Taking part in these activities provides opportunities for finding purpose, changing circumstances, and being part of a collective. Studies show that feelings of empowerment and agency support mental functioning and wellbeing.
    • Spirituality - Spirituality and religion can serve as protective factors that foster inner peace, purpose, and comfort.
    • Seeking treatment from a professional may also be necessary. You might consider:
      • Talking to your primary care physician about mental health treatment options.
      • Calling or texting the Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL) at 833-773-2445. The BHHL is a free statewide resource for accessing a full range of mental health and substance use services. It is available to Massachusetts residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
      • Calling 988 for free emotional support. 988 includes call, chat, and text options for anyone seeking emotional support, with specific supports available to service members and veterans, Spanish speakers, and LGBTQ+ youth. Through 988, trained Lifeline specialists are available to provide free, confidential emotional support to all callers.

Learn more tips on living well with a mental health condition and managing life with serious mental illness. 

OYMH Programs

  • The School Telebehavioral Health Pilot Program
  • School Behavioral Health Service and Workforce Expansion (SBHE) Grants
    • The SBHE program is a state-funded grant program that helps schools improve student mental health and substance use outcomes. These grants allow schools to hire and retain clinical and non-clinical behavioral health personnel, build partnerships with community-based providers, improve or establish relevant behavioral health policies and procedures, and expand needed services. A range of services are funded through this grant, including de-escalation and crisis response, alternatives-to-punishment for student substance use, social-emotional learning, and other behavioral health promotion, prevention and early intervention strategies.
    • SBHE Grantees: SBHE grants currently provide funding to 33 schools and school districts across the Commonwealth. The program is integrated into the Comprehensive School Health Services Program, meaning eligible schools must also be CSHS recipients. Current grantees are a mix of public school districts, regional school districts, charter schools, collaborative schools, and non-public (non-profit) schools. The funding allows schools to expand mental health and substance use services in grades K-12 based on school and district needs.
  • Behavioral Health Supports in Schools to Respond to Gun Violence and Related Trauma (BHGV)
    • The BHGV grant program is a short-term program – available through December 2026 – to expand behavioral health services in schools. The program has two primary goals:
      • To create trauma-informed, safe, and supportive school environments that promote school connectedness, healing, and belonging for all students, including students who experience bullying, harassment, social isolation, and discrimination as well as students who may face disciplinary action for substance use/possession and other behaviors that are consistent with behavioral health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder. 
      • To expand access to mental health and substance use services that are linguistically and culturally appropriate for the student population and that affirm the lived experiences, cultures, and identities of students who face disparities in behavioral health access or outcomes. 

Contact Us

OYMH@mass.gov

Publications

Resources

  • Do you need emotional support now? 988 provides free emotional support and includes call, chat, and text options with specific supports available to service members and veterans, Spanish speakers, and LGBTQ+ youth. Through 988, trained Lifeline specialists are available to provide free, confidential emotional support to all callers.
  • Do you need mental health or substance use treatment? The Behavioral Health Help Line is a free statewide resource for accessing a full range of mental health and substance use services. It is available to Massachusetts residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year by calling or texting   833-773-2445.
  • Do you need help to quit vaping or using tobacco products? Call the Massachusetts Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW to get connected to a FREE trained quit coach by phone or online. Youth and young adults can also call My Life, My Quit™, a program designed to help young people quit vaping or using other tobacco products.
  • Do you need support with substance use or gambling? The Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline is a statewide, public resource for finding substance use harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and problem gambling services. Helpline services are free and confidential, and available 24/7. Call 800-327-5050 or text HOPE to 800327 for support.
  • Do you need a connection to other community services, like a food bank or an afterschool program? Mass 211 is an easy to remember telephone number that connects callers to information about critical health and human services available in their community.
  • Are you a young person looking to connect with other young people who share your experiences?
    • Young Adult Access Centers are unique community spaces that allow young adults with mental health concerns to access services and supports in a timely and effective manner. The services are free and available to all young adults. No diagnosis is required.
    • Safe Spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth provide community drop-in spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in communities across the state. These spaces offer emotional and social support and opportunities for youth to build positive relationships with their peers. Find additional organizations supporting LGBTQ + youth.

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