Mount Vernon Teens Can Apply for $1,000 Mental-Health Project Grants
MOUNT VERNON, VA — Local teenagers have one week left to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to create projects that help their peers talk more openly about mental health and seek help when they need it.
The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board announced that $6,000 is available for youth-planned, youth-led anti-stigma projects across Fairfax County, Fairfax City and Falls Church City. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, and award recipients will be announced Oct. 1.
The opportunity has particular resonance in Mount Vernon, where earlier grants produced tangible results inside local schools.
The Mount Vernon High School chapter of Our Minds Matter used one mini-grant to create a Portable Comfort Classroom, a flexible program for student-led small groups, club meetings and wellness workshops focused on managing and reducing stress. According to Fairfax County’s account of previous grant projects, 75 students participated during the grant cycle, and the student group intended to continue the program in future years.
Another Mount Vernon High School project, the Mindfulness Spot, was designed to turn an unused room near the cafeteria into a calming space students could visit before school, during lunch or during a study period. Plans called for flexible seating, white-noise machines, journals, coloring books, stress balls and other coping tools, along with room for students to talk with peers.
A separate MANUP Mental Awareness Mentoring Program brought together more than 100 teenagers from Mount Vernon, West Potomac and John Lewis high schools. During student-led discussions, participants talked about mental wellness, depression, sadness, anger and suicide, using contemporary events to explore how young people manage emotions. Fairfax County reported that participants became more comfortable discussing mental-health issues and showed stronger leadership skills when sharing factual information with their peers.
Those earlier projects demonstrate the local impact a relatively small grant can have when students—not adults—decide what their classmates need.
“These mini-grants offer our youth the opportunity to take ownership of the positive change they’d like to see in how we discuss and engage with mental health concerns,” Chad Christian, a supervisor with the Community Services Board’s Wellness, Health Promotion and Prevention program, said in the county’s program information.
Raymond Paden, manager of the program, said the grants also give young people a chance to develop as leaders.
“The youth need to be heard because their voices matter,” Paden said, “and these grants can support them as they lead the charge to reduce the stigma that is often associated with mental health concerns and aid in suicide prevention.”
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, youth groups affiliated with Fairfax County Public Schools and public agencies other than the Community Services Board. Adults may serve as mentors or sponsors, but the students must plan and implement the project themselves. New applicants receive priority, and the money cannot be used for salaries or other personnel costs.
Applications should be no longer than three pages and must explain the project, its expected reach, how it will reduce stigma and how students will lead it. Proposals are evaluated for effectiveness, creativity, reach, whether the idea can be repeated elsewhere and the extent of youth leadership. Projects may take place in schools or community settings and must be completed by May 21, 2027.
Applicants can review the full request for proposals and application and submit the completed PDF to [email protected].
