Our Voices Matter: Intervention for Depression in Youth

"The Our Voices Matter RJA intervention is a block-stratified randomized, group behavioral intervention designed for Black and Latinx adolescents and young adults (AYAs). The curriculum will specifically focus on the principles of activism, organizing, policy development, and legal advocacy. Participants will have didactic sessions, which include policy debates, keynote lectures, seminars, and trainings led by local leaders, community activists, and other experts on civil rights. Participants will learn how to use data to understand how structural racism and discrimination (SRD) influence life. Participants will understand and analyze policy and develop action plans to influence SRD. Additionally, the program will create a network of supportive peers. After the RJA training, small groups will meet monthly via videoconference for 1-year post-intervention. This intervention aims to equip Black and Latinx AYAs with civic and grassroots organizing knowledge and peer support."

"Adulting 101: Life Skills attention control is a 5- day in-person program (Figure 4) that will meet for the same number of sessions and duration as the intervention. This attention control is based on the Project Life program,84 developed initially for individuals supporting youth transitioning out of foster care to teach life skills for independent living. This curriculum is delivered through didactic and interactive modules that provide knowledge and informational resources, along with hands-on activities and life skills demonstrations. Sessions include: 1) Community Building, 2) Career Preparation, 3) Education, 4) Money Management, 5) Health and Nutrition, 6) Home Management, and 7) Story Sharing, which culminates with a Day of Action. Participants will learn skills for adulthood and gain experience developing career and education goals. Like the intervention condition, participants will actualize their skills on the final day, called the Day of Action."