Dearest Readers,
Firstly, on behalf of the entire VOX Investigates team, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to you for taking the time to indulge us as we dive into the topic of mental health. We invite you to bear witness to the stories and experiences and revelations of teens across the metro-Atlanta area as they bravely share their perspectives on mental health.
We covered mental health because it is one of the many universal human experiences we all can share and relate to. We covered mental health because, according to our 2016 teen survey, mental health was a leading topic teens wanted VOX to cover. We covered mental health because there are just so many misconceptions and generalizations floating along the breeze that we just could not wait any longer to address mental health from an investigative perspective. We had to find the truth so others could find their own truths.
We truly hope you connect with something in this issue, whether it be a song on the mental health playlist, a line in a poem, an organization in the resource list or a statistic one of our investigators found. Whatever it may be, we hope our coverage and media forms urge you to take the time to look within yourself and ask: “Am I taking care of my mental health?” “Is there someone I know who isn’t taking care of their mental health?” “Is there a way I can help them?” “Is there a way I can find help for myself?”
Our stories are shared in this print edition, which is shared at high schools and nonprofits around metro Atlanta. And all of the content — plus multimedia and interactive features — are online here throughout the spring: voxatl.org/category/vox-investigates/.
Again, we are ever grateful for you choosing to digest our words and consume our visuals. We send you thanks, strength in your mental health journey and all the love under the stars.
Thalia Butts, V.I. Intern Spring ‘17
PS. To tell VOX what you’d like to see VOX investigate next year, please take this year’s survey! Just click surveymonkey.com/r/
Our special edition will hits schools and community organizations starting May 1.
And now we’re rolling out our coverage online. Check out these stories:
13 Teens Respond to “13 Reasons Why”
Bullying, Loneliness & Depression – 5 Ways to Fight Back
Let’s talk about mental health — at VOX-a-Palooza!
This Sat., April 29, at VOX-a-Palooza, our community event that includes art, podcasting, poetry and interactive dialogue. This by-teens-for-teens event will also include the spring print edition of VOX, which features our special coverage of mental health — including resources for help.
12-5 p.m. at The Rush Center (near Candler Park MARTA station).
Click here for details & to register. It’s free!
