The Palo Alto Project is a university and high school student-run research project that works to mitigate many of the mental health issues experienced by students in the PAUSD system. This project focuses on early-intervention school mental health counseling programs and minority mental health in particular due to the impact of both on the youth mental health crisis in Palo Alto. The project's final goals are two-fold. It aims to encourage the PAUSD system to implement more mental health interventions as early as at the elementary school level where research has shown it can make a huge difference. The project also hopes to encourage the board to hire a mental health counselor of color at the PALY and Gunn High Schools. This is due to the large minority student populations at both high schools coupled with the fact that research has proven that minority students are more likely to seek counseling if a counselor of color is present at their academic institution. The project consists of: 1.) Compiling outside research on the effects of early mental healthcare implementation in youth, the nuances of minority mental health, and the best ways to implement mental healthcare in schools for small children and students of color. 2.) Conducting research through a variety of psychological research methods on the youth mental health situation in Palo Alto specifically so as to find ways to best implement research-based youth/minority mental health solutions within the PAUSD system. 3.) Presenting these solutions to the PAUSD Board, working on their implementation, and working towards sustaining them in the school system.