The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) Family Health Services Division (FHSD) Children with Special Health Needs Branch (CSHNB) Project LAUNCH grant focuses on promoting positive mental health supports and services for children and families. Project LAUNCH defines wellness as a state of positive physical, emotional, social and behavioral health. For this program, behavioral health includes mental health and positive development free from substance abuse and other negative behaviors. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which provide funding for Project LAUNCH requires that people with lived experience serve on the Project LAUNCH Advisory Council. People with lived experience offer first-hand insights into what it is really like to access and use mental health services. Unlike providers or outside observers, people with lived experiences can speak to the emotional, social and practical impacts of programs and services. Their stories can provide qualitative data that may not be captured through quantitative data. This project aims to capture family and community storyboard of wellness which is a visual or narrative tool that outlines how wellness is promoted, supported, and experienced within a family or community. It may include narratives, stories, photos, videos, and other ways of storytelling to capture the physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being of the individual or community. Visual and narrative elements can be captured in the storyboard which can be a powerful representation of what an individual or community is experiencing.
