Behind the asterisk*: Perspectives on young adult mental health from “small and hard-to-reach” communities

Youth and young adults in small and hard-to-reach communities (white rural, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, urban Native American and the homeless) face special challenges, including suicide, to their mental health. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) worked with five focus groups drawn from these populations to arrive at a set of ten policy recommendations to promote systems reform and mental health equity. The purpose of this report is to inform policymakers, practitioners and advocates about the lives of these young people in order to achieve more effective and more equitable policymaking on their behalf.