Hundreds of children, teenagers openly discuss mental health during conference

SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of children and teenagers gathered at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Saturday for the Pathways to Hope conference, an event focused on destigmatizing mental health.

The conference, hosted by nonprofits and community resources, has been held annually for the last 10 years. The event aims to bring together key stakeholders to discuss challenging issues and explore solutions.

This year’s conference focused on the experiences of young children and ways adults can provide support.

“As an Asian American, culturally, mental health is so stigmatized in my community, especially,” Dev Alluri said. “Advocating for that had almost become a passion for me.”

The event also offered free counseling and educational resources related to mental health.

An extensive list of mental health resources are available on the National Alliance of Mental Illness’s website.

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