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Alaska Young Artist Contest: Promoting Mental Health

  1. Division of Behavioral Health with Alaska youth and statewide partners
  2. Project Dates: January 1 – March 15, 2024, Submit Art by March 1, 2024
  3. Theme: Messages of Healing & Support
  4. Project Page

Purpose

Statewide suicide prevention partners request that youth contribute digitized artwork and/or media to promote youth mental health and the 988 mental health resource. We hope to increase youth awareness and use of the 988 Careline and resources for mental health in Alaska. We encourage supportive adults to share the 988 Create project widely and help youth submit their creations.

How to Participate

  1. Create a visual, audio, or craft based on the theme Healing & Support.
  2. Add the number 988 to your creation in a visual or audible way that can be easily understood.
  3. Fill out this form and send your file through that form or send an email with a clear image or recording of your creation (jpeg, mp4) to: yaha.alaska@gmail.com (guide on high quality submissions below).
  4. Include your: name, age, hometown, email, phone number, title of your art, and a brief description of submission.

Why 988? - Mental Health Information

988 is here to help anyone that is having emotional distress, thoughts of suicide, or problems with drugs and/or alcohol. The goal of 988 is to provide a simple and direct way for Alaskans to connect to resources and ultimately, save lives.

Background

A Youth and Young Adult Suicide Prevention Group is running a second year of the campaign after a very successful first year in 2023! This collaborative project is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act Mental Health Block Grant and the Garret Lee Smith Grant received by the Division of Behavioral Health. The funding intention is to involve youth in the creation of youth-led mental health promotion.

The 988 Create campaign evolved from this collaboration. Partners include the 988- Careline, Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska (YAHA), Spirit of Youth (SOY), Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), Department of Health (DOH), Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), the Ketchikan Wellness Coalition (KWC), the Alaska Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Zach Gordon Youth Center, and more.

Project Goals/Objectives

  1. Host a positive youth and young adult led arts contest to promote 988 and youth mental health across Alaska.
  2. In collaboration with the Youth and Young Adult Suicide Prevention Group, ANTHC, and the DOH public information team, we will develop the top ten young artist submissions into posters and social media content for youth.

Timeline

  • December– YAHA continues to refine the contest submission guidelines and selection criteria. ANTHC creates a poster to kick-off the project (January 1)
  • January– Contest is promoted, submissions are received (1/4/24 -3/1/24)
  • March - YAHA reviews and chooses the top 10 submissions based on the selection criteria. Winners notified, awards sent and first 20 entry swag bags distributed. (3/15/24)
  • March – YAHA reviews and chooses the top 10 submissions based on the selection criteria. The top 10 submissions will be developed into materials by partner entities including: posters for print, digital downloads for the 988 website, and shareable social media graphics with audio and posts.
  • April to May – Suicide Prevention Conference Presentation April 30 - May 2, 2024. Collaboration partners will share the materials created via social media on all partner platforms; posters will be printed and distributed to schools and youth organizations. 988 website and Spirit of Youth will also promote. (5/30/24)

988 Create Young Artist Contest Details

Call to Action: Calling all young Alaskan artists 10-25 years old. Alaskan youth want to inform our state about 988 by spreading messages of Healing & Support. From January 1 - Calling all young Alaskan artists 10-25 years old. Alaskan youth want to inform our state about 988 by spreading messages of Healing & Support. From January 1 - March 1, we ask youth around the state to submit their art via email to gain a chance to win one of ten $150 gift cards or a Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska “swag bag” (details below).

Key messages relating to the theme: safety, hope encouragement, and support:

  • Calling all youth to help us get the word out about 988
  • Theme: Healing & Support
  • Where to find mental health support for yourself, friends, and loved ones
  • Importance of taking care of yourself, self-care, overall wellness messages
  • Protective factors and their role in supporting mental health and preventing suicide
    • Access to mental health care, and being proactive about mental health
    • Feeling connected to family (even if it’s a chosen family) and community support
    • Problem-solving and coping skills
    • Limited access to lethal means
    • Cultural and religious beliefs that encourage connecting and help-seeking, discourage suicidal behavior, or create a strong sense of purpose or self-esteem
    • What we are looking for: Email high-resolution/high quality photos of artwork, video, or audio recordings of your creations that meet the above theme to yaha.alaska@gmail.com.

Please include the artist's name, age, preferred pronouns, hometown and a brief description of how your art meets the theme. A maximum of 25MB per email. Here are example mediums:

  • Paintings
  • Sculpture Architecture Literature Poetry
  • Music
  • Performing Cinema Fiber arts
  • Fashion
  • Digital art Culture Crafts
  • And other creative mediums

Poster Contest Guidelines: We will post your first name, age, preferred pronouns, and hometown (unless you prefer to be anonymous), along with a description of your submission, and how it unites with the contest theme.

  • Submissions may be used, shared, or replicated through social media posts, newsletters, websites, and digital/print media by the State of Alaska, Department of Health, and Department of Education and Early Development, and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
  • Submissions must EXCLUDE: illegal activity, nudity, hate speech, and profanity. Submissions with this content will not be utilized or posted in association with this project.
  • Submission Must:
    • Include positive visuals indicating messages that relate with our theme: Healing & Support.
    • Clearly include the number 988.
    • Include in email: artist’s name, artist’s age, Artist’s hometown, art title, and a brief description of the artist’s submission.
    • Name the JPEG, JPG, PNG, or MP4 file “988Create_Last name, First name”. Submissions may be created in any creative medium, but submission must be digital.
  • Any included text on visuals must be legible or may be edited to be legible.
  • Audio and video submissions must be submitted with lyrics and/or content for closed captioning.
  • Art must be completely original in regards to concept and design. Plagiarized artwork will not be accepted as a submission. We are currently not accepting A.I. generated work.
  • Images selected for posters will be designed into an 18” x 24” poster which requires a minimum of 300 dpi with a trim dimension of 18” x 24”.
    • It is recommended to leave ¼ inch space for bleeding around the borders so that your art does not get cut off.
    • Blurry file submissions cannot be accepted.
    • JPEG or PNG file format for visual submissions.
    • Suggestions: Do not enlarge your images, do not use file compression, make sure cropping is even and correct, check for focus and motion blur, check for even illumination, and avoid flash glare.
  • The top 10 submissions will be posted on the 988 website for download, printing, and shared in spaces where youth frequent such as schools, libraries, coffee shops, community centers, gyms, school clubs, statewide juvenile justice centers, etc., and on multiple partnering agency social media sites.
  • All other submissions that meet our guidelines will be celebrated on the @ak_youth_voice instagram and facebook pages.
  • Partners and artists encouraged to use the hashtags: #Alaska988 #988 #Alaskanyouthresilient #youthresilience

Rubric (may be updated once we consult with art partners): Winners will be selected by YAHA and our partners by using the rating criteria.

Items to be scored

Scoring

Guideline Adherence – max 4 points

Submission aligns and adheres to 988 Create guidelines.

Yes (4)
Mostly (3)
Somewhat (2)
Not much (1)
No (immediate DQ) (0)

Relevance to Theme- max 4 points

Creatively incorporated one of the main themes of Healing & Support, and depicts the number 988.

Yes (4)
Mostly (3)
Somewhat (2)
Not much (1)
No (immediate DQ) (0)

Overall Presentation - max 4 points

Art that can positively impact 988’s message and awareness to the resource with appeal.

Yes (4)
Mostly (3)
Somewhat (2)
Not much (1)
No (immediate DQ) (0)

Originality and Creativity - max 4 points

Uniqueness and genuine concept/idea.

Yes (4)
Mostly (3)
Somewhat (2)
Not much (1)
No (immediate DQ) (0)

Artistic merit: Craftsmanship and skill - max 4 points

Demonstrates planning, preparation and effort put into the art.

Yes (4)
Mostly (3)
Somewhat (2)
Not much (1)
No (immediate DQ) (0)

Total points awarded

#/20 points

Prizes

  • Participation Incentives: YAHA will ship one “swag bag” to each of the first 20 submissions if they provide a valid mailing address and a preferred sweatshirt size.
  • Grand Prize: Ten $150 gift cards will be shipped to the top ten selected submissions (at minimum- one award per age group). Ten awards will be distributed amongst age groups depending on the number of submissions we receive
  • Artist Age Groups: 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-25 years old.
  • One chance to win per person, not per submission.
  • Winner Contact Information needed: Email, Mailing Address, Parent/Guardian email address, and Phone Number.

Additional text that may be added to your art submission may include:

  • What is 988?, What to expect when calling 988, Call, text, or chat at https://988lifeline.org/chat
  • You can be connected to a trained crisis counselor that can help you or someone you know who is:
    • Experiencing mental health issues or problems with substance misuse (drugs and/or alcohol)
    • Having any kind of emotional distress (like intrusive thoughts, sleep changes, overwhelming anxiety, depression, and hopelessness etc.).
    • Worried about someone else and you don’t know what to do
    • Having thoughts of suicide

More ABOUT 988

What is the 988 - Crisis and Suicide Lifeline?

988 is the direct connection to The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that provides compassionate and accessible support for anyone experiencing mental health related stress, including thoughts of suicide, mental health crisis, unhealthy activities such as substance/alcohol use or abuse and/or any other type of emotional distress.

What to expect when calling 988

If you are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide and call 988 you will talk to a highly trained call center professional. All calls are routed to a call center where a crisis counselor will provide confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for anyone of any age, including non-English speakers and those who are deaf or hard of hearing. You typically will be greeted by an automated system and selection of prompts including options for Spanish speakers, Veterans, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
  • There is typically a wait time of a few minutes before a trained crisis counselor will answer the phone, assess the situation, and risk to determine how to best respond in order to keep the caller safe.
  • It is not guaranteed that your crisis professional will be located in Alaska. Your call may be recorded, your name and location will be collected, but you may choose to remain anonymous if you prefer.
  • GPS is not used to track a caller’s location; professionals gather as much information as they can and work with crisis responders nearest to the caller’s location, and then 911 only if necessary.
  • Calls may last for as long as the caller wishes.
  • In rare cases, the crisis counselor might need to alert local law enforcement to make sure the person is safe. In many cases, a follow-up call will occur within an agreed upon timeframe.

Youth-focused mental health related facts

Knowing the facts and eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health is paramount in increasing the number of youth that reach out for help. In 2019, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) noted that:
  • Since 2007, there have been significant increases in students feeling sad or hopeless, and considering, planning for, and attempting suicide in the past 12 months.
  • But there is hope for all of us! We know that we can help youth and each other by increasing youths’:
    • Connection to a caring adult
    • Feeling of mattering to the community
    • Cultural identity and connection
    • Healthy social, problem-solving, and emotional regulation skills
    • Hopefulness

    Learn more facts and statistics through our Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This survey is the only youth self-reported data available in Alaska. The next survey will be taken in February 2025, please consider participating. Youth voice matters!

    Ways to take good care of yourself

    • Talk with someone you trust about your thoughts and feelings. You may be feeling grief, and that's ok- we have changed the way we live, work, and play. You may have lost friends or family during this time. Connect with others, avoid isolation, and consider talking with a counselor. Reach out to friends and family by phone, text, video chat, and social media.
    • Find ways to relax. Take deep breaths, stretch, or practice mindfulness. You could try Headspace (on YouTube or the free app) or other guided meditation outlets.
    • Try to do activities you enjoy, like exercising, gaming, reading, getting outdoors, etc. or new hobbies! Keep to a schedule. Plan times for doing schoolwork, relaxing, and connecting with friends.
    • Avoid or reduce use of alcohol, drugs, vaping, and smoking. These substances can weaken your body’s ability to fight infections and contribute to mental health challenges.

    Resources

    • NAMI
    • Alaska Behavioral Health
    • Alaska 211 Dial 211 or 1-800-478-2221
    • Volunteers of America (VOA) Alaska,
    • Your school counselor
    • Arc of Anchorage
    ​