“We All Need a Little Help to Bloom” Mental Health Awareness Campaign

• Course: ph 104: Community health promotion
• Community partner: Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI), Youth in Technology Incubator (YTI), San Jose, CA
• Dates: January 2026 to May 2026
• Artifacts: Instagram carousel, single Instagram post, and printable flyer.
• Presentation

Community partner background

AACI is a Santa Clara County nonprofit that serves marginalized communities through health services, community programs, and advocacy. Its Youth in Technology Incubator (YTI) is a free county program, funded by Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services, for youth ages 8–24. YTI uses arts, multimedia, and storytelling to teach young people about mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.

Summary

For our community service learning project, our group partnered with AACI’s Youth in Technology Incubator to create a public service announcement (PSA) campaign about mental health. We focused on stigma around getting mental health treatment, and we aimed the campaign at young adults ages 18–24. Before designing, we completed YTI’s “Be Sensitive, Be Brave” training on sensitive language around mental health, along with graphic design workshops.

The campaign, titled “We All Need a Little Help to Bloom,” uses a friendly cartoon brain in a garden to make the topic feel approachable. It has three parts:

• Instagram carousel, “Plucking Mental Health Treatment Myths.” Each slide pairs a myth with a fact. For example, “getting mental health treatment makes you ‘weak’” is answered with “asking for help is one of the strongest actions you can take.” Another slide explains that finding the right mix of therapy, medication, and support is normal. A final slide lists resources.
• Single Instagram post. It repeats the “to bloom” message and gives the 988 crisis line and the Teen Line text number.
• Printable flyer. It explains what to expect from treatment, including an adjustment period of 4–8 weeks, “shopping around” for providers, and counseling and intake.

Every piece includes resources from credible sources only: 988 (call, text, or chat, 24/7), Teen Line (text “teen” to 839863, 6pm–9pm daily), and SAMHSA at samhsa.gov. All pieces carry the County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services, YTI, and AACI logos.

Code of ethics in practice

Our group applied three public health ethics principles. We respected people as ends, not means, by using sensitive language from the “Be Sensitive, Be Brave” training. We did what is best for everyone under the circumstances by limiting the campaign to ages 18–24. We avoided interventions outside our training by including only resources from credible sources, rather than giving advice ourselves.

Lessons learned

• Challenge: Working remotely, with no in-person communication.
• Challenge: Never meeting the population we served.
• Success: A strong group dynamic and teamwork.
• Success: Creating a meaningful project.