Pima County officials convened a new event aimed at giving young people a forum to discuss mental health and to connect them directly with local supports and resources. The conference, titled "Let's Talk About It," targeted youth and families and sought to create a space where conversations about mental well-being and substance use could happen without judgment. Organizers described the gathering as an effort to remove barriers to care and to make it easier for teens and young adults to learn about services available in their communities.
Public-health data about young people helped shape the tone of the conference. Young people between the ages of 10 and 24 represent nearly 15% of suicide victims nationwide, a statistic organizers cited as illustrative of the stakes involved in addressing mental health early. Locally, nearly 7.9% of Tucson teens have acknowledged using some kind of drug, a figure that officials said underlines the connection between unaddressed mental-health needs and substance use. The Pima County Health Department framed the event as part of a broader effort to respond to those trends by fostering awareness, encouraging help-seeking and linking attendees with concrete resources.
Teens and event staff pose for a group photo at Pima County’s 'Let's Talk About It' conference, which aims to connect youth with mental-health resources; several participants wear event lanyards and a speaker in a green 'Let's Talk About It' shirt is seated at front.
Participants at the conference included teenagers, community volunteers and people with lived experience who spoke about how mental-health struggles had affected their own lives. One young attendee, Aryanna Diaz, described a long-running personal battle with mental-health issues that began when she was a child. "Mental health definitely has like a big meaning to me because I've struggled with it since I was at least 10 years old," Diaz said. She also spoke about cultural and social obstacles that have made it difficult for her and others to open up. "With the stigma around it, it's harder to, especially in like different cultures, it's a lot more difficult for people to like actually talk about it," she said, explaining why events that normalize conversation can be especially important for some families and communities.
Speakers at the conference included motivational presenters who shared both vulnerability and practical coping strategies. Zion Givens, a speaker who grew up in Tucson, discussed the importance of framing vulnerability as a strength and of offering alternatives to harmful coping mechanisms. "We can talk about mental health and that there's strength in vulnerability and that there's nothing wrong," Givens said. He added that a central aim of his work was to demonstrate healthier ways of responding to stress and emotional pain. "It's about showing other people an alternative ... healthy coping skills that they can develop and have," he said, urging attendees to consider options beyond self-medication or isolation.
Public-health officials at the event stressed that the conversations were urgent given the local realities of substance use and overdose deaths. Pima County has seen as many as 443 overdose fatalities in recent reporting through 2023, a number speakers noted while discussing the risks young people face when they use drugs to cope. Program Manager Kimberly Wang of the Pima County Health Department emphasized the particular dangers posed by fentanyl and the affordability of illicit drugs in the region. "So it's super critical to talk about these issues, especially with the presence of fentanyl and just the illicit drug market being so cheap here," Wang said, outlining why prevention and early intervention were priorities for county health officials.
Organizers said the conference was intended not only to inform but to make sure young people know where to turn for help. Presenters and staff encouraged attendees to reach out to trusted adults, counselors or local health providers and stressed that support is available for those who ask for it. Zion Givens also spoke directly to young people in the audience about the availability of help. "And trust me, there's people out here that want to help you, that want to support you, but they can't help you if they don't know what's going on," he said. County organizers and volunteers at the event worked to ensure that the link between mental-health awareness and practical resources was clear, giving attendees contacts and directions to services that can provide immediate or ongoing assistance.
The event was Pima County's first dedicated teen conference on these topics, held July 25 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Groundworks with interactive workshops on peer support and positive social media use, plus live acoustic performances, activities, prizes and free food. Pre-event county data highlighted 510 unintentional overdose deaths in Pima County for 2023, including 13 among ages 13-19. (Arizona Bilingual News, Pima County Health Department)
Pima County’s Overdose Fatality Review annual report lists 532 fatal overdoses in 2023 — a 7.5% increase from 2022 — the highest annual total on modern record for the county.
The OFR’s case reviews found methamphetamine was involved in 77.3% of reviewed deaths and fentanyl in 60%, with polysubstance overdoses common and naloxone not administered in roughly three-quarters of the reviewed cases.
The Pima County Health Department has received federal Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) funding and operates a local initiative called Pima CARES to coordinate rapid response, outreach and prevention related to the county’s overdose surge.
Groundworks’ event listing shows the July 25 conference was free to attend and asked participants to register in advance via the venue’s sign-up form.