Developed as a part of the “Youth Lens” project by Cleveland YPAR (Youth Participatory Action Research), this animated video and corresponding discussion guide were created as tools for a rich conversation around mental health and COVID-19. Informed by youth, the video focuses on the challenges faced by young people while navigating the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, as the video suggests, both adults and youth are invited to come together to discuss how they can best support each other in these extraordinary times.

“What It’s Like to Have an Incarcerated Parent” is the resulting animation and discussion guide developed by Youth for Youth. Youth for Youth is a youth participatory action research (YPAR) initiative involving children of incarcerated parents (COIP) in the Cleveland area (ages 10-24). The group was formed to understand challenges faced by children of incarcerated parents and to identify strategies to address these challenges.

We conducted YPAR sessions, interviews, visual storytelling, free writing/journaling, participant observation, and group discussions to understand youth perspectives and worked with a Youth Advisory Board throughout the project to guide analysis, findings, and advocacy planning.

These findings indicate that parental/caregiver incarceration has negative impacts on children’s social and emotional well-being, especially on their mental health. However, the findings also highlight the ways in which young people and families continue to flourish in the face of adversity.

The youth participants would like to see strategies that address root causes of poverty, racism, and incarceration, as well as comprehensive support for mental health and well-being. Below is a video and discussion guide, informed by Youth for Youth, to help structure conversations around these issues.