Everyday Strong: Students give back

Students complete projects every day, but these ones change your children’s lives.

Specifically, these projects are community assessments on child mental health in Utah County that Brigham Young University public health students conduct as part of their Program Planning class.

Clara Garcia and Michelle Ellis are just two students who have gone out into neighborhoods to collect and analyze local demographic and mental health data for these reports.

For many students, assessing community mental health is a very personal topic. Like the community members she worked with, Garcia notes that some of her peers suffer from mental illness and that she has seen how it decreases their quality of life. “I feel that mental health resilience is important to helping people live a more fulfilling life.”

Resilience—the ability to deal with and recover from difficulties and challenges—is developed when individuals feel both physically and emotionally safe, connected, and confident.

Ellis also feels a personal tie to the issue.

Throughout her college career, Ellis has struggled with anxiety and depression.

“I felt that I could relate with many of the individuals and families we worked with throughout this project. I have taken an active approach to address my mental health with exercise, a healthy diet, medication, and counselling. These tools have helped me to develop resilience.”

Emotional resilience is the specific goal of Utah County initiatives created by Garcia and Ellis and promoted by United Way of Utah County and hundreds of local families.

Resilience — the ability to deal with and recover from difficulties and challenges such as feelings of anxiety and depression — is developed when individuals feel both physically and emotionally safe, connected and confident.

“We live in a busy, demanding world,” shares Ellis. “In order to meet the demands of life and to take whatever comes with confidence and strength, we must be resilient.”

In community surveys conducted among local families, half of parents and neighbors in Utah County reported that within the past year, at least one member of their family had experienced a mental illness; oftentimes the individuals experiencing mental illness were children. Other questions revealed that children often lack the coping skills and abilities they need when faced with difficulties.

Students came to a unified conclusion across Utah County neighborhoods: Youth mental health is a major issue in Utah County, and individuals need to recognize and help develop resilience among children and youth.

While the task to develop resiliency in children may seem daunting, both Garcia and Ellis feel that the community can successfully cope with child anxiety and depression through community programs and initiatives.

The specific program students are working to support is United Way of Utah County’s EveryDay Strong, an initiative that seeks to help children and youth with anxiety and depression through the natural supports of parents and other children’s trusted adults.

“I feel that public health programs (like the ones we developed from our research) can help empower communities to initiate change,” Garcia said.

As students prepare to protect, assess and promote community health in their careers, they have learned through this project just how important mental health is to a community’s well-being. Not only does poor mental health contribute to abuse, neglect, self-harm and other issues, it can also lead to under-performance in work and school situations.

Poor mental health contributes to abuse, neglect, self-harm, and other issues. It can also lead to under-performance in work and school.

As she has personally learned about and become involved in the community’s struggle with mental health, Ellis has felt empowered to use her skills and knowledge to create change.

“This project and other initiatives like it change lives,” continues Ellis. “I believe that everyone makes a contribution to society, whether that be one of giving or one of taking. The EveryDay Strong initiative and others like it help turn takers into givers.” ※

United Way is on a mission to help every child in our community feels safe, competent and connected. Twice a month in this space, we’ll be sharing ideas from local professionals, parents, and friends about how you can do that for the kids in your life. In the meantime, find us at www.everydaystrong.org, or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Originally published at https://www.heraldextra.com on July 20, 2018.