Join and Create Community and Connection

Climate Mental Health: Join and Create Community and Connection

Sharing feelings around climate change topics with others creates trust, a sense of belonging, and a sense of solidarity when others feel similarly. Research also indicates that connection with others helps to mitigate stress, and is strongly linked to mental and physical health. For example, a strong social support network was a strong predictor of positive psychological well-being in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Finding support and community to reflect on emotions and take action to mitigate or adapt to the impacts of climate change can help tremendously in moving towards action.

Return to the Climate Mental Health Page.

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Encourage youth to join or create climate café groups to talk about and normalize conversations about emotions & create opportunities for shared solidarity

There are climate cafes and other support groups that encourage community, offer a place to talk and reflect on climate change, grieve, be grateful, and honor pain for the world related to climate change impacts.

Teaching Resources

Joining groups:

Climate Change Café offers a list of climate cafes by city and state and also includes a place to advertise and host your own climate café.
Climate Awakening offers climate emotions conversations to share and listen to.
Work that Reconnects provides a variety of resources and groups to help people find connections with each other, honor their pain for the world, and move toward action.
Action for the Climate Emergency has started a "Let's Talk about It and Speak Your #Climate Truth" campaign where youth can talk about their climate anxiety and fears or share tips and inspiration with others through social media.
Generative Somatics uses somatic processes to recover from trauma and build resilience skills and prioritizes work around environmental and climate justice.

Creating groups:

The All We Can Save Project provides several guides to help foster deeper dialogue about the climate crisis and build community around solutions.
The Good Grief Network has a train-the-trainer program to help people run climate grief groups in their communities.
Climate and Mind offers language and tips for advertising and running your own climate café group.

My Climate Story is a toolkit of lesson plans that helps students learn how to share their feelings and stories about climate change with others with courage and compassion.

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Support connection with family, friends, or special interest groups

Encourage social connection with friends, family, social interests, or faith groups. Establish connections with other community members who have been through natural disasters. Maintain and encourage connections to one's culture. Sharing stories about others struggling with mental health related to climate change can help youth feel more connected and not alone.

Teaching resources

Eco-anxious stories offer a collection of reflections by people surrounding various emotions related to climate change.

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Encourage collective action

Join a local group focused on environmental topics and protection.

Getting involved in environmental groups can be an empowering way for young people to combat climate anxiety while taking meaningful action. Joining a community of like-minded individuals provides a sense of purpose, reduces feelings of helplessness, and fosters positive change. Many organizations across the U.S. offer opportunities for students to engage in climate action, conservation efforts, and sustainability initiatives.

Check out your local Nature Conservancies and Environmental Clubs – Many communities have chapters of organizations like The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, or school-based environmental clubs that promote conservation and sustainability efforts.

By joining these groups, young people can take action in ways that align with their passions, whether that’s policy advocacy, community cleanups, or climate action. Being part of a collective effort can transform anxiety into hope and resilience.

Share stories of Climate Activists whom students can follow on social media, who often have opportunities for collective action.

For mental health support activities on joining and creating community and connection, please see the Climate Solutions and Facilitating Discussions and Creating Solidarity.