Youth Photovoice shares the stories behind the data.

Cheyenne Lanham

Age: 15

Focus: Depression, Anxiety, Over-thinking & Body Image

"I chose to do a variety of mental health issues. I want to show others, what it looks like or feels like to go through these mental health issues and to show teens with these mental health issues that they're not alone."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

53% of female students felt sad or hopeless everyday for two weeks or more so that they stopped doing some usual activities.

24% of females and 18% of all students made a plan about how they would attempt suicide.

60% of students DO NOT have a caring adult with whom they can talk about their feelings

DeCarlos Ross-Johnson

Age: 17

Focus: Substance Abuse

"In my photos you can see how substance abuses are affecting a teenager. The countless rotation of just smoking, sleeping, and starting all over the next day. I chose the setting of the bedroom, because we just went through a whole pandemic and it put a lot of people in this mental state where they felt like they didn't have to do anything."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

34% of students reported that their mental health was not good most of the time.

35% of students used/tried an electronic vape product, compared to 51% in 2019.

13% of students used marijuana, compared to 18% in 2019.

Gillian Fowler

Age: 15

Focus: Positive Impact of Physical Activity

"My photos were taken to represent the positive impacts of physical activity. Teammates are shown being active in bonding with each other. Teens can rely on their team to remove them from self- isolation and build relationships."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

46% of students were physically active at least 60 minutes per day on 5 or more days, compared to 53% in 2019.

Isabelle Caldwell

Age: 17

Focus: Substance Abuse

"When you're looking straight on at the photos, obviously it doesn't exactly look like substance abuse, but as you dig deeper, I think it can be abstract to everybody and other addictions as well. Each photo kind of shows a different story, with my struggle through it and things that I experienced."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

12% of students took pain medicine without a prescription or differently than a doctor told them to use it.

38% of students usually got the alcohol they drank by someone giving it to them.

9% of students were offered illegal drugs on school property, compared to 23% in 2019.

57% tried to quit using all tobacco products, and 1% of students received counseling or treatment for drug use.

Mia Easler

Age: 20

Focus: Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ Community

"I didn't want to take the usual melancholy tone that is usually attached to art about mental health, especially within the LGBTQ+ community. Instead, I wanted to address mental health in a way that highlights its hardships while also portraying the subjects in a more human way."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

83% of LGB (Lesbian, Gay and Bi-Sexual) students felt sad and hopeless, and 62% made a plan to attempt suicide.

87% of LGB students feel that they rarely or never have a caring adult with whom they can talk about their feelings.

39% of LGB students are experienced sexual dating violence, compared to 21% of non-LGB students.

44% of LGB students were bullied on school property, compared to 18% of non-LGB students.

Paulina Veremchuk

Age: 19

Focus: Social & Community Health

"I approached this photo voice project by reflecting on what Spartanburg and its community mean to me. I thought about what needed to be different in order for the community and its youth to prosper."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

40% of students participated in activities run by community groups.

41% of students worked at a paying job outside of their home, including 67% of 12th graders.

55% of students plan to attend a 4-year college, including 45% of males and 66% of females.

Rebekah Briggs

Age: 16

Focus: Dietary Behaviors & Access to Healthy Foods

"I know that I'm privileged because the food that I have access to whenever, though, not all of Spartanburg have the options of clean, organic, fresh food, or can travel to the stores that do as they are on the other side of town."

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

51% of students ate vegetables one or more times per day.

23% of students did not eat breakfast daily.

24% of students drank soda one or more times per day.

89% of students reported that an adult in their household tried hard to make sure that their basic needs were met.

Shekinah Sanchez

Age: 16

Focus: Social, Emotional, Physical Health from COVID 19

"The start of the pandemic was nothing short of disastrous for public health, mentally and physically, due to the fact that we had to literally distance ourselves from other people, which led to a path to distancing ourselves emotionally too."

Xai Madison

Age: 19

Focus: Emotional, Mental Health & Body Image

"This is how it started… An innocent smile, with eyes full of wonder Hopes and dreams just waiting to be fulfilled An heir to the throne…"

2021 Spartanburg County Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data

58% of students agreed that they felt close to people at their school, compared to 66% in 2019.

34% of students reported that their mental health was not good most of the time.

81% of students agree that they can resist peer pressure and dangerous situations.