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"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul And sings the tune without words And never stops at all." - Emily Dickinson
 
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Dear Palo Alto Families,

In honor of May is Mental Health Matters Month, we created a special edition of PSN e-News for families.

In this issue, we highlight some simple ways to start conversations about mental health at home and with extended family and friends.

We are proud to features stories of our local youth heroes who are changing the conversation about youth mental health through their own words, art, discussions and advocacy groups.

There is also a comprehensive list of mental health and education resources and the latest events for parents, caregivers and/or families.

We hope you enjoy our latest issue!

Kindest regards,

The Project Safety Net Team
In this Issue
Youth Mental Health Facts 
The following facts are taken from the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI.org)

FACT:: 1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have a serious mental illness 
 
FACT: Approximately 50% of students age 14 and older with a mental illness drop out of high school 
 
FACT: 70% of youth in state and local juvenile justice systems have a mental illness 
 
FACT: 90% of those who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness 
Tips for Starting the Conversation About Mental Health
  • Wear a Lime Green Ribbon: Lime green is building momentum as the national color for mental health awareness. Wearing the lime green ribbon is a great way to open an honest dialogue with friends, family, classmates and co-workers about mental health. 
  • Add a Lime Green Twibbon to your website, email, Facebook or Twitter Account.  Share a selfie on your social networks wearing a lime green ribbon i.e. SnapChat, Instagram, Flickr, etc.
  • Host a community text dialogue in Palo Alto via Talk, Text, Act.
  • Host an in-person community conversation with your friends, local club, or faith community. PSN can help identify mental health support for your event. Download the following resources to help get your started: Each Mind Matters toolkit and Children Mental Health Facts.  
Palo Alto Youth Voices: Stories of
Hope, Resilience and Mental Health Advocacy

This section is dedicated to the inspiring youth heroes in our Palo Alto community who are promoting mental health awareness and reducing the stigma of seeking mental health care. If you have an inspiring story you'd like to share, please send it to PSNPaloAlto@gmail.com.
Reaching New Heights - 03/31/16 - Let's Bring Change 2 Mind @ Paly
LETS Bring Change 2 Mind Student Club at Paly Promotes Mental Health Awareness on the Quad

On March 31st, LETS Bring Change 2 Mind club at Paly led “Reaching New Heights.”  A campus-wide (biodegradable) balloon release, involving students and staff, to symbolize their hopes for raising awareness as well as heightening understanding and acceptance surrounding mental health in our community. As a symbol of solidarity, many of the participants wore lime green, the national color for mental health awareness.  Watch co-founder Bryn Carlson's speech and the balloon release. 
 
Unmasked Film
Last summer break, 13 Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School students filmed a documentary, Unmasked, about teen mental health in Palo Alto serving as a way to spark conversation between youth and adults, break the stigma around mental health and inspire hope throughout the community. Unmasked received "Best Short" at the Big Asian LA Film Festival and is the Student Filmmakers "Audience Choice" winner.  Watch Unmasked.
 
Gunn High School's "Changing the Narrative" Series

This past year, The Oracle student newspaper developed a new series entitled "Changing the Narrative" that tell personal stories of strength, hope, healing and growth every other week. Here are a few inspirational stories. A big Thank You to Shawna Chen and Lisa Hao who shared their inspiration for creating this series at our April PSN community meeting. 
ROCK at Gunn High School

ROCK (Reach Out Care Know) students at Gunn High School students and other Sources of Strength Peer leaders continue to be very active. ROCK distributed "Appreciation-grams" to every student and staff members. They facilitated a "Talk to Me" t-shirt-making event during a lunch period. They led a 30-day "Thankfulness Challenge" and "I Am Stronger" campaigns. Some activities included print, visual, and video testimonials from students and staff about stories of growth, learning and strength.
 
PAYC Hosts Palo Alto Strong Event

This past February, Palo Alto Youth Council (PAYC) hosted the event Palo Alto Strong: A Teen Movement to Promote Resilience and Empathy which focused on sharing ideas on maintaining social, mental and physical well-being among Palo Alto youth.  PAYC studies problems, activities and concerns of the youth; hold forums on these issues and implements new community program.
 
Alumni Dialogue Initiatives - WOPAC

Alumni Dialogue Initiatives - WOPAC (Wellness and Openness in the Palo Alto Community) which consist of Palo Alto alumni hosted many community dialogues and teas at the high schools and different locations around Palo Alto. Attendees included current students, alumni, parents, teachers, community members, and health care providers. One community dialogue focused on Teen Mental Health in Palo Alto and another one focused on Success and Wellness: Life After PAUSD. These are just a few of the meaningful community conversations. WOPAC member and PSN partner Jess Brooks in her own words describes one of the community dialogues, “In many ways, we had achieved several of the factors that the group identified as important for resilience: We created a strong, nurturing community space to process and share our emotions, and where we could support and care for others. We named our problems, but we described them with hope and optimism. We validated our struggles, and we recognized our strengths." Like their Facebook page to learn about upcoming dialogues.
 
Paly Student Aiva Petricks Discovers the Value of Counseling 

Paly student and Campanile Lifestyle Editor, Aiva Petriceks’ pens a poignant, courageous piece that tells her story of getting help, entitled “Changing my narrative: discovering the value of counseling.”  In Aiva's own words, she states, "I  am sharing my story because I want to emphasize that it is okay to get help. I know that everyone has heard this already, but there is so much more to this saying. I thought counseling would be like Freudian psychology, where I would lie on a couch and talk about my subconscious feelings. After my first session I realized that counseling is simply having a conversation with a trusted adult who, because he or she is totally separated from the rest of your life, is simply there to aid you. For an hour, you can talk about anything in life that may be impairing your mental health. Through conversations with my counselor, I received advice on how to alter my perspectives on school and on myself in order to develop a healthier mindset"  Read more >
 
Youth Speaks Out
 
Youth Speaks Out (YSO), an art program at Palo Alto & Gunn High Schools supporting student well-being. YSO is in its fifth year and is committed to work with youth to make a safe, recurring, artistic venue for them to create display and share their artworks, so that the community can witness directly important aspects of their lives.



 
 
Unmasking the Truth — Beyond the Stigma of Mental Illness Palo Alto Teen Shares her Personal Journey with Depression, Anxiety Disorder

The following teen guest opinion is a reprint from Palo Alto Online published March 19, 2016:
 
Throughout my life, when I have chosen to share the truth about my depression and anxiety with others, the most common reaction I've received is, "Wow, you don't seem like it." It has taken me years to master the masking of my symptoms and at this point I'm an expert in this craft.

I am positive I am not the only one who has felt obligated to mask what is going on behind closed doors, and because of this I hope to encourage a community where my peers feel open to unmasking themselves. After all, no one deserves to feel as if they need to hide the truth about themselves.

I'm an outgoing individual by nature and am programmed to cloak my emotions and pain with humor and distract others from the truth. Family and friends who are conscious of this part of my life have told me that I am the last person they'd expect to have depression, and I'm sure this is true for many others who struggle with mental illness as well.

I've told you my story, and mine alone. Not everyone's struggle is the same as mine, and the point of this article is not to make it seem as if it is. The point I'm attempting to get across is that mental illness is not something to hush up about. Depression is not something you choose; it is an illness, just like mono or anything else you can acquire without deliberately trying to.  Read more >
Paly Staff and Students Gather Together for Sources of Strength Day 
 
Shout out! from Palo Alto Mental Health Counselor Jonathan Frecceri: It was heartening to see so many staff members wearing the t-shirts, participating in the discussion circles on the quad with students, and essentially sending the message that physical, spiritual, and social-emotional well-being are valued on our campus. We had amazing participation during the lunchtime activities, as evidenced by a multitude of discussions taking place on the quad between students and staff about the strengthening roles mental health, medical access, mentors, positive friends, family support, generosity, healthy activities, and spirituality play in our well-being when faced with life's struggles.

 
Local Mental Health Resources, Advocacy Opportunities & Events

This section highlights mental health advocacy groups, resources, support groups and community events for youth, parents, and caregivers.  
Local Youth Mental Health Advocacy Groups

LETS BC2M Program at Palo Alto High School
LETS (Lets Erase The Stigma) BC2M is a high school program dedicated to erasing the stigma of mental illness by increasing education and awareness, fostering student empowerment, building mentoring opportunities, and encouraging youth to change the perception of mental health in their schools and communities.This student-led club initiative allows all teens the opportunity to learn and explore more about mental health topics in a safe and supportive environment. As students engage and talk about mental health, we allow them to normalize the conversation and eliminate stigma within their community. To join the Palo Alto High School club, contact advisor Jonathan Frecceri.

ROCK (Reach Out, Care, Know) at Gunn High School
Gunn’s student-led peer support network known as ROCK (for “Reach Out. Care. Know.”), founded in 2009 in response to student suicides. Through trainings, outreach and activities, ROCK members offer social and emotional support for any student needing a safe and sympathetic ear. Contact Gunn Advisor Paul Dunlap.

Source of Strength Program (SoS) at Gunn and Palo Alto High School
SoS is a group of diverse students and adults from many different corners and cultures of our school and community. SoS mission is to ensure that during the rough times no one gets so overwhelmed or hopeless that they want to give up. In addition, their mission is to spread Hope, Help, and Strength into every corner of our community.  Contact Gunn Advisor Paul Dunlap and Paly Advisor Jonathan Frecceri.

Youth Speaks Out (Gunn and Palo Alto High School)
Students in the Youth Speaks Out Art Program at Palo Alto & Gunn High share the experience of being young in our community, through the direct artistic expression of painting, photography, poetry and creative writing, ceramics and sculpture. Contact Carolyn Digovitch

WOPAC - Palo Alto Alumni Dialogue Initiative (Local)
Learn about upcoming organized Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School Alumni dialogues on growing-up in Palo Alto and how their lives have changed. 
 
Mental Health Resources

Crisis Hotlines: Local Counseling and Support Group Resources:
Parent and Youth Education Resources:
Upcoming Community Activities and Events

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
Mon and Tues, June 6 & 7, 2016, 8-5pm
San Jose, CA (Exact location provided to confirmed attendees.)
Workshop features:
• Presentations and guidance from two LivingWorks registered trainers
• A scientifically proven intervention model
• Powerful audiovisual learning aids
• Group discussions
• Skills practice and development
• A balance of challenge and safety

Dads of Daughters: The Joys and Challenges of Raising Teen Girls
Thurs, June 9, 2016, 7-8:30pm
Menlo Corporate Center, 4100 Bohannon Drive, Menlo Park, CA 
Review the developmental changes for girls during puberty and adolescence. Understand the normal challenges fathers encounter raising adolescent daughters. Learn how to maintain and enhance the relationship with your daughter throughout her adolescence.
 
A Heart to Heart Seminar: For Boys Only
Sponsored by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH)
Held in two sessions: Jun 06, 2016 & Jun 13, 2016; Jun 16, 2016 & Jun 23, 2016; Jun 22, 2016 & Jun 29, 2016 
LPCH, 725 Welch Rd., Palo Alto, CA
“For Boys Only” is for boys, 10-12 years of age, and their dads or other adult resource person. Each class includes discussions on body changes to expect during puberty, myths vs. facts, what boys should know about girls, sexuality and sexual reproduction.
 
Free Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) Training for Suicide Prevention
(Sponsored by PSN and the City of Palo Alto)
Tues, June 14, 2016, 6-8pm
Lucie Stern Community Center Community Room
1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA
“It gives us all hope for preventing youth suicide, ” Paul Quinnett, PhD, Founder of QPR Institute. Counties implementing gatekeeper trainings had significantly lower suicide rates among aged 10 to 24 years than similar counties that did not implement trainings.

Mothers of Sons: The Joys and Challenges of Guiding Your Son Through Adolescence
Fri, June 17 2016, 7-8:30pm
Freidenrich Auditorium, 725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, CA 
Discuss adolescent male development during puberty. Understand the normal challenges between mothers and their preteen and adolescent sons. Gain ideas for how to understand and strengthen the relationship between mothers and their preteen and adolescent sons.

Transition to High School: Pilot Class
Tues, August 9, 2016, 6:30-8:30pm
Menlo Corporate Center, 4100 Bohannon Drive, Menlo Park, CA 
Our new class will offer interactive learning and discussion with teens and parents focusing on relationships with peers, family and others. Topics covered will include connection and conflict resolution, respect for self and others, healthy decisions, and family support. Emphasis is on encouraging open communication and respect both within and outside the family.  Our pilot class is being offered free of charge to the first 40 families who enroll in exchange for their thoughtful review and feedback. A full evaluation will be given at the end of the class.
 
Parent Chat (Sponsored by SELPA ! CAC)
Second and Fourth Thursday, 7-8:30pm
Los Altos Library Orchard Room or Cubberley Community Center.
Parent Chat is for parents/caregivers of teens and young adults who may have behavioral, emotional or mental health issues. 

Parents of Vision - A Faith Based Support Group
3rd Sunday of each month
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306
A faith-based parent support group for parents of youth with behavioral, emotional, and mental health challenges. Click here for location information. 
 






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