Giving Compass' Take:

• Cailin Crowe writes about the NYCx Co-Labs challenges that are designed to improve the accessibility of mental health services and information regarding housing rights in two predominately Latinx neighborhoods.

• How can you contribute to emphasizing mental health support systems in your own community?

• Here's an article on empowering youth for mental health solutions in cities. 

The Housing Rights Challenge is focused on two neighborhoods in Northern Manhattan that are home to 220,000 people. Sixty-nine percent of those residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. The area has recently experienced population growth and rising rents, which has resulted in some landlords displacing long-term residents —​ a practice that affects 63% of residents who are extremely low- to low-income.

The competition is intended to use technology to connect residents with the government services needed to understand tenant laws and other protections that keep renters from being wrongfully evicted. Some of those solutions include improving a tenants’ ability to file complaints, knowing what to do after a complaint is filed and tracking the complaint.

"Through this Challenge, the City is seeking to complement its existing efforts by leveraging the expanding 'proptech' sector to identify new strategies for overcoming obstacles to safe, secure, and affordable housing," ​the city wrote in a statement.

The Accessible Mental Health Challenge is designed to help improve access to mental health services for youth in the Inwood and Washington Heights​ neighborhoods.

One in two mental health conditions start at age 14, with 32.6% of U.S. Latino students citing feelings of hopelessness and sadness.

Read the full article about mental health challenges in NYC by Cailin Crowe at Smart Cities Dives.