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After 5 years, 170 students and scores of published stories, we're just getting started
Co-founder and CEO Jayne O'Donnell celebrates how far YMG — and our students — have come since the project was launched five years ago.
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In the Bronx, it's tough for a kid to find a safe place to play. And childhood obesity is soaring
Poverty, limited access to healthy food and a lack of space to get exercise are among the reasons the Bronx has the highest rate of obese children in New York's five boroughs.
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College Corner: Original YMG student says her experience was 'crucial' to landing fellowship
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Illegal dumping in the Bronx isn’t just ugly – it’s a health hazard
YMG intern Yesenia Barrios reports on the health consequences of illegal dumping in a story published in the Bronx Times.
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‘I thought I was the only one’: Peer support groups help teens fight loneliness, isolation of COVID-19 pandemic
Student-written piece from our Fall 2021 reporting workshop on the impact of peer support groups in the wake of the pandemic. Also published in The Afro.
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The student journalists of Youthcast Media Group
Highlighting some of our multitalented and diverse group of student journalists.
We're no longer Urban Health Media Project, but no matter our name, the mission is the same: To train middle school students through college interns from under-resourced communities to create multimedia journalism that highlights solutions to the health, wealth and social disparities where they live. We like our new name, and hope you do, too!
YMG in the News
YMG students from across the country cover the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young Americans' mental health.
Featured Story
“If you come across a police officer, and the police officer touches you, how will you react?”
What we've been working on
Students who participate in the Urban Health Media Project work on stories about various social issues such as teen suicide, domestic violence, poverty and mental health stigma. They interview doctors, journalists, politicians and other experts about these issues. Students write and produce their own articles and use facts and statistics to support their points. In addition to writing, students have the opportunity to learn, hands-on, how to use the cameras to shoot photos and capture video and audio.
Get Involved!
We're looking for a diverse group of youth passionate about storytelling and shedding light on mental health challenges among BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and/or LGBTQ+ youth. Tell stories with words, photography, art, video, infographics, music, and even rap.

Surviving trauma: Students chronicle resilience
Through guest speakers, individual research and reporting this past fall, student journalists explored ways in which people are struggling, surviving, and thriving despite the disproportionate effect the pandemic, economic collapse and soaring city violence are having on already marginalized communities. Their stories have been published on the YMG website; many are also being printed in newspapers in and near their communities.
172
student journalists trained
22
articles and videos in USA Today publications
37
articles in Black, Hispanic and health publications
9
student presentations at conferences, webinars
2M+
readers reached