S3E6: Youth + Community Mental Health Advocacy: On a Mission with Marc Mendiola

Couched in Color

In this episode, Dr. Alfiee showcases 21-year-old youth advocate/mental health activist Marc Mendiola, who began making a difference in high school for those from low economic or diverse ethnic backgrounds. He has expanded his mission attracting millions of dollars of funding for new mental health initiatives.

Now an undergraduate at Texas A & M University, Marc serves as Vice President of The Mexican Student Association, which is one the largest student organizations on campus, with more than 600 members. The focus is speaking for the minority and Marc wants to use his position to get better health resources at the University, and make mental health a priority.

Previously, Marc was an integral part of The Mental Health Ambassadors of Student Leaders at South San High School and The Care Zone - Mobil Mental Health Collaborative with the Non-Profits in South San ISD.

Dr. Alfiee tracked down Marc after seeing his interview on gun violence and mental health in this newspaper article, in which she also was quoted:

https://mindsitenews.org/2022/02/28/suicide-by-gun-is-rising-among-youth-especially-teens-of-color/

Marc’s passion to make a difference took off when he transitioned from middle school to high school and he began questioning “Who am I?”

A teacher selected him for the “Enrichment Club” that grew far beyond beautifying the school and other activities. Instead, members started talking, opening up about their challenges, and breaking down walls of limitations of their ethnic or economic backgrounds.

Marc shares that coming from the South Side San Antonio, a low economic side of town, with 98 percent of the population Hispanic: “There is a lot of stigma about what we can produce based on the resources we have.”

The biggest wall is not only access to resources, but the community in which many live, Marc notes. Many students have the additional responsibility of taking care of their brothers and sisters, while their parents work, and then trying to find time to do homework after putting their siblings to bed.

Topics covered in this interview:

–MAKING THINGS HAPPEN: Marc and his classmates lobbied school officials and local lawmakers, resulting in the creation of a local mental health wellness center in the district. Later,, the County Board of Commissioners pledge $4.75 million to expand the effort, as noted in the article below:

https://www.expressnews.com/business/health-care/article/Pilot-program-brings-long-awaited-mental-health-15309403.php+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

–Marc: ”It’s about outreaching and using your voice.”

–Beyond dealing with the disabilities that may limit students from producing in the classroom, schools also need to change the focus on their environments and what resources they have, and on mental health as a priority.

–The start of The Mental Health Exposium teaching self-coping skills for good mental health and information about available resources in the local community (which got nationally recognized).

–The stigmation of mental health, as something “not real” in Spanish and Latino communities.

–Picking up the gaps where mental health services are not adequately provided on college campuses and elsewhere, including the lack of proper mental wellness checks and follow-up.

Dr. Alfiee on social determinants of good mental health:

“So moved by you, you were young, high school kids (who started this mental health initiative in schools).”

“What’s so amazing about it is you were not out for self, you were all out for community.”

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS: “So you can’t study, you can’t have good mental health, you can’t be engaged with your family in all the best ways, if your basic needs aren’t being met, like do you have food in the house, toilet paper, the pencils and paper you need to do school? Do you have the people physically in the school to help you with what you need…the school social worker, the school counselor? And if you don’t have those things it’s really asking a lot for young people to show up and focus.”

“You are managing the social determinants of health by taking care of the whole community, everybody and all types of needs. That is a model that people picked up on and you pushed it into other schools.”

About Marc Mendiola: Mental Health Activist/Student Advocate

Marc is a first-generation college student and the current Vice President of the Mexican Student Association at Texas A&M University, which is one of the largest organizations on the A&M campus that serves over 600 members. Marc is passionate about breaking the stigma around mental health and supporting communities to find their voices through student activism. He has currently obtained influencer roles in his community by making TikToks and collaborating with companies to shed the light on on-campus resources. He loves to write music and sing in his free time while keeping a bright smile on his face, always ready to make a new friend.

Follow Marc:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marc.mendiola.395

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marc2292/?hl=en

Follow Dr. Alfiee:

Website: https://dralfiee.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralfiee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralfiee

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralfiee/

Website: https://dralfiee.com

Find out more about the AAKOMA Project here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTKmYKi24I

Season 3 Produced By: https://socialchameleon.us

More Couched in Color: https://dralfiee.com/podcast

Music Produced by: Mark “King” Batson (Superproducer of your favorite artists and Grammy award-winner for albums with Eminem and Beyoncé)