For many young people, distress doesn’t speak in clear words. It shows in missed school days, long silences, or bursts of anger they can’t explain. Most keep it hidden — unsure where to turn, or if anyone will truly listen.
“I tried to say I wasn’t okay,” recalls Brilly Tubigon, a student at Andres Bonifacio College. “I told someone I was struggling. They just said to pray — that it would pass. No one checked on me again. No one really listened.”
So many young people like Brilly carry their struggles in silence.
“It’s even harder for boys,” adds Janiel Manginsay, a fellow student. “We are expected to act strong, even when we’re not. You don’t talk about it. You just deal with it.”
But silence only deepens isolation.
The same is true for HIV— the silence is just as heavy, often too difficult or too taboo for many to talk about.
Brilly’s words echo a deeper truth: in families and schools, some things remain too difficult to say. Though awareness of mental health and HIV is growing nationally, young people in smaller cities and barangays often remain on the margin of those conversations — isolated by distance and stigma.
Amid these challenges and stigma around conversations on mental health and HIV, a group of students in Dipolog City is fostering a different kind of learning rooted in the courage to speak and the compassion to listen.
Cultivating Spaces Where Youth Belong
Reinz Icalina, founder of AB.Colored, believes young people feel safest when they are truly heard by someone who understands. This belief led students from Andres Bonifacio College to form AB.Colored, a youth-led group that champions inclusion and safe spaces.
In 2023, they launched AB.Colored Cares: You Matter to usher conversations around mental health and HIV. Rooted in shared experiences, it built trust, encouraged open dialogue, and offered support grounded in empathy and understanding. They didn’t stand apart from their peers, they stood with them.
“This campaign breaks stigma and raises awareness. It empowers youth to speak up and protect themselves. Through our work, I have seen how dialogue and education are powerful tools — not just for self-care, but for building an inclusive community.” said French Gil, President of AB.Colored.
With support from Accenture and UNICEF’s Learning to Earning Pathways (LEaP!) Program, in partnership with Ateneo de Zamboanga University through the Ateneo Learning and Teaching Excellence Center (ALTEC) — AB.Colored gained access to training and digital platforms like Passport to Earning (P2E) and Youth Marketplace Agency (YOMA). Through these tools, young people completed globally recognized courses on mental health and HIV awareness, earning certificates that boosted their confidence and equipped them to lead peer support conversations and share life-saving information.
Reaching Beyond School Walls
“We lacked resources,” Reinz recalls “but we had each other and a purpose.” With LEaP!’s support, they transcended beyond school walls to bring life-saving conversations on mental health and HIV directly into communities.
AB.Colored brought their advocacy to Barangay Cogon, a remote area in Dipolog City. They led sessions that demystified mental health and encouraged HIV testing, reaching young people often left out of mainstream awareness efforts. By working closely with community leaders, they made sure these conversations were accessible and safe.
Cherilyn Baros, a youth from Barangay Cogon, once thought no one would reach them.
Like many young people in remote communities, Cherilyn had never attended a session that openly discussed anxiety, depression, or HIV. Here, she found a safe space to learn, speak, and be truly heard.
Through platforms like P2E and YOMA, youths like Cherilyn now have tools to shift the way their communities talk and listen. This initiative stands as a promise that every story matters, every feeling is valid, and no one is too far to be seen and heard.
Bridging Gaps, Building Trust
“Some youth tell me, ‘I don’t want to know — what if I’m positive?’” shares Rosse Velasco, an HIV Case Finder in Dipolog City. “They fear judgment more than the disease itself.”
Many youths still overlook the importance of HIV screening and testing. “Awareness is crucial,” Brilly shares. “When people understand how HIV spreads and recognize its symptoms, they seek testing earlier. Early testing means early intervention and better health outcomes.”
Hon Mary Abarca, SK Chairperson of Barangay Cogon, affirms the impact of these efforts. “Programs on HIV awareness and mental health truly make a difference for our youth. Beyond sharing knowledge through sessions and dialogues, they remind us that young people must remain at the center of our efforts. The youth carry the hope and future of our community.”
Rosse, working closely at the grassroots level, shares the same hope. “With more trained HIV advocates in local communities, support is now accessible than ever.”
Through the combined efforts of case finders like Rosse and supported by leaders like Hon Abarca, AB.Colored Cares: You Matter has empowered young people to create safe spaces for meaningful conversations, spaces that didn’t exist before.
By normalizing these conversations, young people are breaking through the silence and stigma that have long kept many from accessing the care and support they deserve.
In communities where conversations about HIV and mental health still carry weight, change often begins quietly — with trust, time, and support from those around us. Young people like Brilly and Cherilyn, once hoping for someone to listen, now help others feel heard. In the safe spaces where they were once welcomed, they now create their own, where silence is met with compassion, and every story matters.
“You Matter” becomes more than a campaign slogan. It’s what happens when someone truly listens, and change begins when someone finally feels heard.
In Dipolog, the journey of young people from silence to advocacy reveals what happens when they are supported, trusted, and given room to lead. Through UNICEF Philippines’ LEaP! Programme, supported by Accenture and delivered by Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) through the Ateneo Learning and Teaching Excellence Center (ALTEC), they are gaining skills in mental health and HIV awareness, along with the confidence to speak up and support others.
In collaboration with Generation Unlimited, this initiative is doing more than building knowledge. It is creating safe inclusive spaces where young people feel seen, valued, and never alone.
Written by: Nicko “CK” Gatpandan | Lei Demin | Kristofer Kliatchko
Photo by: Vergel Lozano