Pinterest Leads New $1M Fund Supporting BIPOC Youth Mental Health
Pinterest has announced the Hidden Healing Fund, an initiative with diverse cultural healing practices to empower young people’s mental health.
The Hidden Healing Fund
Led by Pinterest and supported by SHOWTIME/MTV, the Hidden Healing Fund will pilot an initial investment of $1 million in community organizations that employ culturally led approaches to addressing youth mental health challenges.
Brands committed to improving mental health have been invited to combine their resources to help bridge gaps in accessibility and aid solutions beyond traditional models of care.
The initiative was inspired by an idea created by four young mental health leaders at the MTV Mental Health Youth Action Forum at the White House in 2022.
The idea, known as the Hidden Healers, became a pioneering digital video series reaching over 10 million people.
It highlighted culturally grounded healing practices from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, showing how healing can emerge from diverse traditions and practices.
“Two years ago, we were honored to bring 30 young leaders to the White House to present their ideas for how to address the youth mental health crisis in historically marginalized communities,’said Brianna Cayo Cotter, SVP of Social Impact at MTV.
“We are incredibly proud to see one of those ideas become a reality.”
Culturally-relevant, community-based practices
The Hidden Healing Fund aims to take this idea further by infusing capital into existing community-based practices rooted in culture that have already been demonstrated to support young people’s mental health, particularly in underserved communities.
“The creation of the Hidden Healing Fund marks a significant step forward investing in solutions for BIPOC youth that center and honor their identity, culture and communities,” said Mahmoud Khedr, Co-founder of Hidden Healers.
“As an Egyptian-American Muslim who went through a decade of suffering in silence and suffering to find culturally-relevant mental health resources, I know that the organizations that will be the beneficiaries of this work offer the type of healing solutions that I wish I had access to.”
Image Credit: Hidden Healers. (L-R): Maddox Guerrilla, Kheira Bekkadja, Ayanna Kelly, Mahmoud Khedr.
