Montgomery County, MD: How Local Youth Supported Culturally Resonant Communications Around Mental Health

Maryland’s Montgomery County, located just outside Washington D.C., is home to a growing and diverse Asian American community, comprising 39% of the state's Asian population. With over 26 ethnic subgroups and even more Asian languages spoken across the county, language access and inclusive communication are essential.

Public health officials understand that linguistically and culturally relevant communications can help save lives. Mental health is a critical issue in Montgomery County's Asian community—and across the country. A startling 18% of Asian American high school students report seriously considering suicide, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for Asian Americans between the ages of 15-24. Despite these sobering statistics, Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek help for mental health concerns than their peers from other communities.

To address these disparities, the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, turned to an invaluable group for input: local youth.

Empowering Youth Voices

AAHI engaged a group of local high school students, ages 13 to 18, with the goal of crafting a mental health communications campaign that would resonate with Asian American youth and their families, breaking down the stigma around mental health and connecting their peers to available resources.

Through weekend brainstorming sessions, these “Youth Ambassadors” collaborated to create a series of photonovels. With a format similar to a comic book, the photonovels tackled relevant topics like understanding mental health, the importance of social connections, and how to access support. Youth Ambassadors not only shaped the plotlines but also recruited community members to be photographed and featured in the photonovels, ensuring that the stories were relatable and representative.

Creating Multilingual, Culturally Relevant Resources

Once the storylines were finalized, AAHI used best practices in translation to ensure that the photonovels were accessible to a broad range of local residents.

“We used a professional translation service for the initial drafts, but the key was going back to the community for validation,” explained Dr. Muhammad Hasan, AAHI’s Acting Program Manager. “This process ensured that the translated content was not only linguistically accurate but also culturally appropriate. Community feedback was essential in shaping the final versions.”

The final photonovels are available in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, and English, and are intentionally designed to be readily adapted into other languages. AAHI created customizable templates to allow community groups to personalize the photonovels, including swapping out photos and adjusting the content to meet specific needs.

In addition to creating this culturally resonant content, AAHI recognized the importance of ensuring that the resources would reach their intended audience. The Initiative developed a series of toolkits with resources to support community workshops, including PowerPoint presentations, training videos, and guides. AAHI also trained a group of community volunteers to present the photonovels and facilitate conversations around mental health.

“The photonovels are a main attraction at our events and in our website downloads,” said Dr. Hasan.

This initiative not only increased local awareness around mental health but also empowered youth to take the lead in addressing health challenges within their own communities. By fostering community-driven, culturally resonant communications, AAHI has created a model for high-impact outreach that can be adapted for other issues in the future.

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