On January 19, 2024, representatives from state and local health care providers and youth-serving agencies and organizations gathered at the Terry Reilly Health Center in Nampa, Idaho for a Community Dialogue on the Take Action for Adolescents: A Call to Action for Adolescent Health and Well-Being.

“As a pediatrician and adolescent medicine sub-specialist, I have always had a strong interest in supporting, improving, and promoting the health of young people. Take Action for Adolescents is grounded in the idea that it is critically important to make sure that young people are thriving now, when they become adults, and in the future when many of them may be parents or guardians of the next generation,” said Admiral Rachel Levine, M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health. “Ideally, the Call to Action will serve as a template for caring adults to collaborate with individuals and organizations in their communities to create programs that address the needs of the adolescents they serve and support. We hope you’ll join us in taking action for adolescents”.

Participants in the room and virtually discussed ways that their organizations could promote adolescent health and well-being; the expertise and resources they have to bring to that effort; which groups or organizations they want to build relationships with going forward; and which perspectives have historically been missing from the conversation.

Participants emphasized a commitment among all present to support young people and noted that policies and practices sometimes make it challenging to coordinate efforts. They identified mental health as one of the biggest health challenges facing young people today, and specifically noted the difficulty of finding adequate staffing for mental services in communities.  They also noted that health care providers need more information and resources to adequately serve young people.