As BTWF prepares to hit the road with our co-founder for her Joanne World Tour, we're releasing a comprehensive study of youth mental wellness: Kind Communities - A Bridge to Youth Mental Wellness. By releasing the survey, we hope to raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing and provide people with helpful information that’s practical to their own lives. But just as importantly, we hope to use this as a tool to get people talking about an issue that we still have a hard time discussing. You can read the full report at bit.ly/... but here are some of the important things we learned: Kindness matters. Young people who describe their environments as kind are more likely to be mentally healthy. Peer networks matter. Youth rely on a small set of close friends for support. And while young people also talk with their parents about important issues, parents don’t necessarily understand what’s going on with their children emotionally or what they’re willing to discuss. Mental health resources matter. Young people with access to tangible resources are more mentally healthy. Furthermore, youth want to empower themselves with knowledge and skills to support their own wellness – and assist a friend who might be in crisis – but we need to do a better job providing those resources. We hope you read the report, share it with the people in your life, and use it to start a conversation.