Helping Young People Share Their Stories
In 2020, the Risa Fund partnered with This Is My Brave to encourage young people to speak openly about mental health and help reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness.
The Risa Fund helped sponsor the development of The Brave Wave, a teen-focused podcast series designed to explore mental health challenges, healthy coping strategies, and personal experiences through conversations with teens, mental health professionals, and advocates.
Through a mentorship with This Is My Brave’s teen creative director, the Risa Fund also helped inspire the launch of @thisismybraveteens, an Instagram account dedicated to bringing conversations about teen mental health into everyday life.
A Risa Fund grant was also used to drive viewership through digital advertising of the This Is My Brave High School Edition show, a virtual performance held on October 18, 2020. Through personal essays, poetry, and original songs, teen performers shared their experiences with mental health challenges, encouraging understanding, connection, and hope.
About This Is My Brave
Founded in 2014, This Is My Brave uses storytelling and creative expression to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and substance use disorders. Its performances have given people opportunities to share their experiences, foster understanding, and help others feel less alone.
Today, the This Is My Brave storytelling model remains available to communities through the University of South Florida’s Stigma Action Research Lab.