Youth voices lead the way at the 2026 Y2Y Health Summit

Over 130 students and staff at the annual Y2Y Health Summit

On April 10, The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health hosted its annual Youth to Youth (Y2Y) Health Summit at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, bringing together 130 students from 18 partner schools across Los Angeles for a day of connection, learning, and youth-led dialogue on health and wellness.

Former Wellness Youth Advocate Yolanie Cuevas

An impactful moment of the summit was a powerful keynote from former Belmont High School WYA member Yolanie Cuevas, now a student at Stanford University. Through a deeply personal reflection on growing up as the daughter of Central American immigrants, Cuevas shared how experiences with family separation, poverty, and unspoken trauma shaped her mental health and identity. She encouraged students to use their voices to challenge stigma and advocate for their communities, reminding them that “every time you start a conversation, you are pushing back on a story that was written about you without you.”

Executive Director Dr. Sarah Rodman gives the opening address

This year’s summit also marked a meaningful milestone, as newly appointed Executive Director Dr. Sarah Rodman delivered her first Y2Y opening address. She emphasized the importance of creating spaces where young people feel seen, heard, and empowered to lead. “This is not a conference about youth where adults do all the talking,” she said. “It is a space built with you and for you.”

LAUSD Chief Medical Director
Dr. Smita Malhotra

LAUSD Chief Medical Director Dr. Smita Malhotra reinforced the importance of addressing mental health with the same urgency as physical health. Sharing her own experience with untreated anxiety as a child, she encouraged students to “notice, ask, and connect” to better support one another, and reminded them that they are “experts in their experience.”

The summit featured a range of engaging workshops, including “Flipping the Script: Reaching the Students Who Never Ask for Help,” where students were encouraged to lead conversations about breaking down stigma, guided by Doctor Homie (The L.A. Trust Board Member Dr. David Lyons). In the “UCLA Career Panel,” students drove the discussion by asking questions and exploring pathways into healthcare careers, focusing on issues that could shape their futures.

A highlight of the day was the series of student-led workshops, where peers shared lived experiences and practical tools:

• Fremont High School students presented "Our Body, Our Power," explored topics such as reproductive rights, self-advocacy, HPV awareness and self-love in a safe space.

Students from Belmont High School discussing strategies for dealing with mental health

• Monroe High School students hosted the "Real Stress Solutions by Teens, for Teens,” where they focused on real and healthy ways to deal with stress. Instead of boring lectures, they shared relatable experiences, practical strategies, and simple techniques that teens can use in everyday life.

• Belmont High School students presented on " Hakuna Matata: What a Wonderful Day to Learn About Mental Health," highlighting different strategies for dealing with Mental Health.

• Santee High School students led “Slime My Way Out of Stress.” In this hands-on activity, students used slime-making and sensory play to explore the difference between healthy and unhealthy stress.

Carson High School students talked about creating and understanding healthy boundaries

• Carson High School students presented "Healthy>Toxic: Choosing Better Relationships. Love Without Losing Yourself," showed the different aspects behind having, creating, and understanding healthy boundaries and relationships.

• MaCES High School students presented “Features of Fairy Tales,” exploring healthy and unhealthy relationships through the lens of the Disney universe.

The success of this year’s summit was made possible through the support of dedicated partners, including Dr. David Lyons, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Public Health, Organization Facilitators, FCancer, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, UCLA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente, NAMI Urban Los Angeles, Tarzana Treatment Center College, Dignity Health, LAUSD’s School Enrollment, Placement & Assessment Center, Nurse-Family Partnership, Universal Community Health Center, and the Center for Wellness and Nutrition, a program of the Public Health Institute, through funding from the California Department of Public Health.