Darcy Pickens, program coordinator for the office of suicide prevention at the California Department of Public Health, explains how the state’s “Never a Bother” youth suicide prevention campaign collaborated with youth to develop a campaign tailored to their needs; Courtney Dezendorf, director for the office of practice and learning at the Texas Department of State Health Services...
Darcy Pickens, program coordinator for the office of suicide prevention at the California Department of Public Health, explains how the state’s “Never a Bother” youth suicide prevention campaign collaborated with youth to develop a campaign tailored to their needs; Courtney Dezendorf, director for the office of practice and learning at the Texas Department of State Health Services, shares the statewide strategy her department developed to expand partnerships between Texas’ local health departments and academic institutions; an ASTHO resource provides public health leaders with the information they need to learn more about effective infectious disease response; and a new ASTHO blog article describes the art of storytelling and why it’s so essential to the public health field.
California Department of Public Health: California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
ASTHO Blog: Public Health and Academic Leaders Unite Through Texas Consortium
ASTHO Web Page: Infectious Disease Response Resources
ASTHO Blog: The Art (and Science) of Storytelling in Public Health
SUMMER JOHNSON:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, August 20, 2025. I'm Summer Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
DARCY PICKENS:
We found that youth are their own best advocates and messengers.
JOHNSON:
The California Department of Public Health launched a youth suicide prevention campaign called "Never a Bother" to provide support and resources to young people affected by mental health. Darcy Pickens, with the California Department of Public Health, tells us how they involved youth in the development of the campaign to amplify its impact.
PICKENS:
They informed every aspect of the campaign, from the initial concept to messaging, the website, advertisements, influencers, and social media. Then there was "Never a Bother"'s Youth Advisory Board, consisting of five young people with lived experience in this space.
JOHNSON:
In addition to California youth, the campaign also partnered with musical artist Megan Thee Stallion.
PICKENS:
We engaged a spokesperson who is not only influential among youth, but also passionate about mental health and about breaking down stigma and comfortable sharing her personal challenges. So, our partnership did help extend the reach of our campaign, yes, absolutely, but also helped to build trust and credibility because the message was really authentic and meaningful to young people.
JOHNSON:
Pickens says continuing to collaborate with youth-serving organizations across communities is essential to make the most out of the campaign's resources.
PICKENS:
Alongside that effort, just as crucial, is the need to bring those materials into communities so they can be further tailored, shared in meaningful ways, and act as a source of guidance and an anchor in communities.
JOHNSON:
"Never a Bother" campaign resources are available online now. We have a link to that in the show notes.
The Texas Department of State Health Services developed a strategy that will help expand partnerships between local health departments and academic institutions across the state. Courtney Dezendorf, with the Texas Department of State Health Services, shares some of the state's goals for the partnership.
COURTNEY DEZENDORF:
One of them is to prepare, educate, and train the public health workforce, which is, you know, tied to curriculum development, workforce training and continuing education, applied learning, and practical experiences.
JOHNSON:
Another goal is to improve public health workforce efficiency. The department recently created the Texas Public Health Fellowship Program to address these goals, inviting those early in their public health careers to apply for a paid, one-year fellowship.
DEZENDORF:
We're providing professional development opportunities, trainings. They're paired with a coach and a mentor, and so, it's not just [that] they're working a job, but they're actually getting, like, a really unique onboarding experience for the entire year.
JOHNSON:
Dezendorf says that other states looking to formalize academic partnerships should start small.
DEZENDORF:
You know, academic health departments can be as simple as you know, an internship program, or it can be as sophisticated as you know, shared staff and resources and space, and so, there's not a right or wrong way.
JOHNSON:
You can read more about the partnership between Texas's public health departments and academic institutions by checking out ASTHO's recent blog article on the topic. Just click the link in the show notes.
Also, for any public health leaders looking to learn more about infectious disease response, ASTHO's INSPIRE: Readiness public health preparedness resource hub has all the information you need. Access tools, training, insights, and more to help strengthen your public health practice. Head to the show notes for a link to the resource.
Finally, a new ASTHO blog article describes the art of storytelling and why it's such an effective form of communication, especially in public health. Read how storytelling allows public health leaders to communicate their work in a compelling way. The full blog article is online now. Click the link in the show notes to read it.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Summer Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.
Darcy Pickens MPH
Program Coordinator, Office of Suicide Prevention, California Department of Public Health
Courtney Dezendorf MPH M.Ed.
Director, Office of Practice and Learning, Texas Department of State Health Services