With the goal of increasing access to innovative, preventative health solutions for youth across the country, Peer Health Exchange is creating expanded partnerships with healthcare systems and youth-serving community-based organizations. Since 2017, Boston Children’s Hospital has helped Peer Health Exchange (PHE) navigate and respond to the evolving health landscape in Boston—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the launch of selfsea, PHE’s youth health digital platform. PHE is also partnering with Children’s Hospital LA to help affiliated organizations support youth with their health.
Peer Health Exchange is one of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Healthy Youth Development Funded Partners. This initiative provides funding to projects that support trauma-informed, youth-centered programming and services to promote healthy youth development and resilience. Together through this partnership, PHE and Boston Children’s Hospital have been able to normalize mental health conversations in both classrooms and digital spaces, expand access to trusted, youth-informed resources that reduce stigma and promote early intervention, and deepened understanding of digital health impact to inform future investments and innovations.
Nty Diakite, PHE Director of Digital Wellbeing and Marnino Toussaint, PHE Manager of Youth Engagement and two young people from PHE’s Youth Advisory Board, joined the first-ever “Unmuted” Amplify Youth Summit in Nashville, hosted by the Boston Children’s Hospital Digital Wellness Lab. The gathering centered youth voice on digital wellbeing, mental health, and online belonging. They participated in workshops on topics such as AI ethics, social media stress, and creating healthy online communities, as well as worked alongside peers and industry leaders to share ideas, develop solutions, and build new connections.
"I really loved the Youth Symposium! It was an intentional space that truly centered youth in every conversation. At Peer Health Exchange, we’re deeply committed to youth-centered work, so it was meaningful to be part of a convening that so clearly embodied those values. Creating spaces where young people are treated as experts in their own experiences isn’t just important, it’s essential to building programs and partnerships that truly serve them,” Nty remarked. Peer Health Exchange is grateful for the unwavering partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital, their contributions to improving adolescent health and wellness. We look forward to continuing this work together.
Peer Health Exchange partners with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) to support youth-serving organizations, specifically in strengthening how they engage and support young people’s health. Eunetra Rutledge, Assistant Vice President of Digital Impact at PHE and a national youth advisory board member with CHLA’s Youthink Innovation Hub, ensures youth voice remains central to this work. Youthink supports changemakers—including youth-serving professionals and young people—through design thinking–informed programs that provide training, tools, and coaching to develop and test bold, community-driven solutions to adolescent and young adult health challenges. In addition to this partnership, selfsea has been used to engage adolescents in conversations around mental, emotional, and identity wellbeing. “Our partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles reinforces what we know to be true—when youth voice is centered and innovation is grounded in empathy; we create more relevant and accessible pathways to health. Tools like selfsea help us meet young people where they are and connect them to support in ways that feel affirming and real.” Eunetra said.
Peer Health Exchange continues to turn to leading healthcare systems and children’s hospitals to help deepen support for youth nationwide. Building on the success of the work with Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital LA, the Peer Health Exchange hopes to supercharge its digital approach, becoming a hub for trusted and vetted resources for youth, nationwide.