Championing Youth Mental Health
When Kip Amyot ‘22, M.S. ‘26 first arrived at Le Moyne as an undergraduate in the fall of 2018, he focused his energy on answering this question: Where did his skills and interests meet the world’s needs? Amyot found the answer in the study of psychology. The Latham, New York, native discovered that it was a means by which he could serve others and offer them the care he believes everyone deserves.
Amyot is now a student in the College’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program. He also helps to shape and implement initiatives to support young people across the state as a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New York State Next Gen Advisory Group. NAMI uses a variety of tools to promote mental health, including educating the public, promoting access to care, empowering individuals, and advocating for policy changes. The members of Next Gen aim to build on those efforts by amplifying youth voices and speaking out on behalf of younger New Yorkers.
The most rewarding aspect of this work is knowing that I can be a resource for young people at a time when they may truly need one. It is a privilege to have a voice in this space and to be a champion for mental health.”
Amyot brings to the Next Gen initiative his professional experience working with young adults at The Q Center at ACR Health. As a transgender adult, he aims to be the resource to others that he felt he did not have when he was a youth and sometimes still struggles to find. His responsibilities at the center include connecting LGBTQIA+ people in their teens and 20s to services that support their well-being and leading community and educational events throughout the region. Amyot began work at The Q Center as a student intern as part of Le Moyne’s CMHC program before being hired there full time. It is work that is so meaningful that, on many days, he says “it doesn’t feel like a job.”
What’s more, Amyot is motivated by the fact that he is taking on these responsibilities at a critical time. According to the New York Health Foundation, anxiety and/or depression rates across the state remain highest for those ages 18 to 34, with approximately one in four younger adults reporting having one of those conditions in the first half of 2024. Looking forward, Amyot is eager to use his roles at both Next Gen and The Q Center to create environments that are culturally competent, safe and inclusive for the people he will serve. That is the foundation upon which he will build his professional life.
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Inspired by Kip's Story?
Kip is already shaping more inclusive, culturally competent environments across New York. What difference will you choose to make?
