Seattle Public Library (The Seattle Public Library)

The current pandemic offers an opportunity for innovation and teen engagement with new formats that improve access to mental health resources. The Seattle Public Library will integrate co-design and the immersive technology of virtual reality (VR) to improve access to mental health resources for vulnerable youth. Co-design will empower library staff and teens to envision how VR experiences can help support long-term spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Teens and young adults will receive technology to develop content. To mitigate sanitation challenges presented by COVID-19, teens and young adults will receive technology to keep and hardware will not be shared among participants or library staff. Three library systems-Pacific Northwest urban Seattle Public Library, urban East Coast DC Public Library, and rural South Central Fayette Public Library Museum and Archive-will gather information about the variety of teen mental health needs in its communities and build a framework and set of resources that will succeed across different regions of the United States.