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Healthy Minds Healthy Kids

Healthy Minds Healthy Kids

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Youth & Caregiver Leadership Council

Since 2019 our campaign has worked to serve and advocate for all children, youth, and families in New York State with unmet behavioral health care needs.

We mobilize providers and communities to improve our state’s behavioral health system that is under-resourced and unable to respond to the mental health crisis facing New York’s children and youth.

For too long youth and families most impacted by this crisis have not had a seat at the table where key decisions impacting their lives are made. Holding ourselves accountable to values on how we should practice advocacy, our campaign has dedicated itself to ensuring we move forward with an approach towards advocacy that is community-led and driven.

By elevating youth and caregivers as leaders and campions in our advocacy, we believe New York can fulfill its obligation to ensuring New York children and families thrive.

About The Council
Meet The Council
Join Our Movement

We Need To Appropriate, Embrace The Idea That We Are The Leaders We’ve Been Looking For.

Grace Lee Boggs

About Our Council

The Healthy Minds Healthy Kids Council is our foundation for building a intergenerational community-driven advocacy coalition with residents of New York who have experience with mental/behavioral health issues, are familiar with the needs of children and youth, and are passionate advocates for ensuring our communities thrive.

Our goal is to create a powerful movement of youth, parents, and caregivers who are fighting to improve access to mental and behavioral health support for all children and youth in New York State.

Community Voice Matters

State leaders need to hear from youth and families about their experiences and challenges they face – advocating on behalf of themselves, their loved ones, and communities. By mobilizing and leading with community advocates, we challenge state leaders to ensure supports for children and youth are enough so they grow, develop, and thrive. We believe youth and family directed advocacy will drive policy and budget recommendations to state leaders that lead to long lasting, permanent change.

Hear From Members of Our Council

Our Rally for Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids mobilizes advocates and champions, like you, to be a part of our movement to end New York’s mental and behavioral health crisis. 

Hear members of our council call on Governor Hochul and the State Legislature to ensure that state budget investments prioritize children, youth and families amid decades of chronic disinvestment in the children’s behavioral health system.

Hear From Members of Our Council Urging New York State Leaders to Support Mental and Behavioral Health Services for Children and Youth at our Rally For Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids. February 22nd, 2023.

You can support our campaign by urging your state leaders to ensure all children in New York can access the behavioral health supports they need.

Take Action Now

Meet The Council

Anna Ammarell

Cohocton, NY

Margaret Baird

Watertown, NY

Aidan Berry

Bronx, NY

Renee Enoch

New York, NY

Ava Lindstrom

New York, NY

Bethany Morgan

Buffalo, NY

Abby Plotka

Somers, NY

Carol Rushin

Bronx, NY

Diane Tanner

Rochester, NY

Katty Valentin

Bronx, NY

Mashrafi Anwar

Astoria, NY

Faith Beaty

Rochester, NY

Preem Cabey

Albany, NY

Victoria Garcia

Hudson Falls, NY

Maria Mastromarino

Forest Hills, NY

Carol Murdie

Apalachin, NY

Kendyl Pollack

Fairport, NY

Catharine Salazar

Endicott, NY

Idalia Tlatelpa

Brooklyn, NY

Latoya White

Gloversville, NY

Day Baez

Bronx, NY

Tamara Begel

South Setauket, NY

Djeneba Coulibaly

Queens, NY

Cody Hauptman

North Babylon, NY

Valentina Medina Monje

Bronx, NY

Precious Paul

Elmont, NY

Elisabeth Restitullo

Brooklyn, NY

Tara Stolz

Patchogue, NY

Nadia Trought

Cedarhurst, NY

Raleighn D. Williams

Wappinger Falls, NY

Our Council Advisors

Nura Anwar

Astoria, NY

Mary Fralick

Oneonta, NY

Rhonda Jackson

Brooklyn, NY

Andrea Stolz

Amityville, NY

Clarissa Arnold-Walrath

Sidney, NY

Laura Gullekson Westfall

North Tonawanda

Charles Mcintosh

Port Jervis, NY

Catherine Borgman-Arboleda

Brooklyn, NY

Christina Hauptman

North Babylon, NY

Elizabeth Repoli

Bronx, NY

Special Thanks To Our Supporting Organizations

Our Community Leadership Council is grateful for the support of the over fifteen organizations a part of the Campaign for Health Minds, Healthy Kids as well as several dozen partner organizations through New York State who supported the development of this initiative, hosted our HMHK Community Speakout Launch Event in August 2022, and brought their passion to making our group a reality.

We also would like to recognize the organizations and staff of Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Families Together in New York State, and the New York State Coalition for Children’s Behavior Health who serve as the backbone staff supporting our council.

Alice Bufkin

Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy

Carlos F. Rosales

Senior Community Outreach & Engagement Associate

Brad Hansen

Director for Public Policy

Zack Kilmer

Public Policy & AMPLIFY-NY Coordinator

Shannon Zielinski

Board Member

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The campaign is a coalition of behavioral health (mental health and substance use) providers, advocates, and New York families, joining together to call on the State to fulfill the promise of PARITY – advancing access to behavioral health care for all children and families.

©2020 by Campaign for Healthy Minds Healthy Kids.