DANVERS — The NAN Project and the state Department of Mental Health brought together students from nearly 20 different high schools throughout Massachusetts for a youth mental health summit in Danvers Friday.
The “Empowering Youth Voices” event featured workshops to prepare the students to become mental health advocates in their schools and communities.
The 121 students from the North Shore and other regions gathered at the Danversport function hall to engage in peer-to-peer conversations about topics related to youth mental health such as effective communication strategies, utilizing support resources, mental health advocacy, and other critical issues.
“Youth mental health is at a crisis point, and (it) doesn’t have to be — because the truth is there is treatment,” NAN Project founder Ellen Cavanaugh said. “Student leaders have the power and have a voice to make a difference to help their friends, peers, and community members recognize and respond to mental health challenges that many are struggling with.
(This event) is about empowering and equipping you with the motivation, skills, and strategies to change how we think and talk about mental health.”
To guide such conversations, the NAN Project — a nonprofit providing mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs to Massachusetts schools and communities — and the Department of Mental Health invited speakers and mentors from mental health advocacy organizations statewide.
Speakers included Sharing Kindness, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Pathways for Children, and 13 Reasons to Fly, to share their experiences and observations from working to improve mental health systems.
The keynote address was delivered by Belle Cole, a college student who started her own website, 13 Reasons to Fly, while she was receiving intensive residential treatment at Taunton State Hospital for self-harming behaviors. She shared her story of personal recovery and how her difficult time in treatment inspired her to share her experiences.
“When I was younger, I was a really great actor, but not the kind that does theater,” Cole said. “My internal pain had built up to a point where it needed a release, and I really wanted the pain to end. These destructive tendencies, as well as my diagnoses and life experiences led me to attempt to take my own life and end up in nine months of psychiatric facilities at the age of 16.
“What I was doing up to that point wasn’t working. Denying, numbing and suppressing all certainly serve purposes when one is in survival mode, but when trying to thrive, these defaults need to be challenged,” she said.
“And thankfully, with support they can be. I realized if I wanted to make a different reality, I would have to be the one to create it. So I took a pen and paper and began writing.”
Based off the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why,” which included depictions of suicide that many, including Cole, say added to the stigma surrounding the topic, 13 Reasons to Fly is a collection of personal reasons for staying and holding on to hope. Originally, the campaign started as a list of reasons on the hallway of the hospital where Cole was receiving treatment. Since then, Cole has spoken to countless individuals struggling with mental health and expanded the campaign by connecting with suicide prevention organizations, such as the NAN Project.
“For the past six years, I’ve shared 13 reasons to Fly to anyone who will listen. My favorite interactions though, have been with young people,” she said. “I enjoy speaking with students and learning about some of the things they enjoy. You all inspire me.
“Seeing the struggles of successful people is necessary in breaking cycles. My hope is to start conversations surrounding mental health so that healing and connection can continue to overpower the feelings of isolation that often accompany life’s challenges.”
Friday’s event also included a panel of students from schools like Revere High School, Arlington Catholic, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science, who represented the NAN Project’s mental health ambassadors program that provided youth with training, education, and opportunities to become community change agents who work to reduce stigma and create a positive perception toward mental health.
The ambassadors shared what they’re hearing in the classrooms about mental health, as well as solutions to these issues.
Workshops throughout Friday taught students about the resources available to them and how they as individuals can be a positive change for mental health in their own community. One session, “Advocacy 101 for Mental Health” informed students about how to research and engage with elected officials about issues important to them surrounding mental health, such as sending a letter to a state representative or showing up to a legislative hearing.
“Being a friend, being an advocate, knowing you’re not alone, is a huge help to people. We can make a huge difference this way,” said Brooke Doyle, the commissioner at the state Department of Mental Health. “Doing these things may seem small on the surface, but these are the ways that we make mental health as easy to talk about as physical health.”
For questions or help in receiving treatment services for mental health, call the 24/7 behavioral health helpline at 833-773-2445.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202