Help, Health, Healing & Hope: Strengthening Resiliency of Transitional Age Youth & Young Adults

As part of the Engaging Neighborhoods Training Series in partnership with ADAMH of Franklin County, this training will highlight transitional age youth and young adults. Through four engaging sessions, participants will learn to address mental health, substance use, and grief concerns that are experienced while learning skills to help build resiliency and support. Sessions include:

• A Collaborative Approach to Addressing Mental Health and Trauma Among Transitional Youth & Youth Service Providers

  This panel discussion will be moderated by De Lena P. Scales, neighborhood program specialist for the City of Columbus’ Department of Neighborhoods. Participants include feature Karim Jackson, My Brother’s Keeper Columbus coordinator, and a grantee; Nicole Harper, the program coordinator with Commission on Black Girls, two Commission on Black Girls grantees, a Commission on Black Girls Youth participant, and William Wilder, a 23-year-old male who utilized programs, services, and mentors to navigate life challenges. The moderator will introduce the panelists with a brief background and two points regarding how they are addressing mental health, substance abuse, grief, and chronic stressors with the youth they serve. Will’s introduction will include two points about why addressing mental health, grief, and chronic stressors is essential for youth and young adults.

• Engaging Black Girls in Personal Development and Social Change: An Introduction to the Work of Black Girl Rising, Inc.

  This 90-minute presentation will focus on the mission and work of Black Girl Rising, Inc. Its work addresses the mental and emotional health of Black girls by giving them skills to self-regulate their behavior, think critically and design a process to identify issues they would like to research and change. The organizaion also helps Black girls facilitate a process to dialogue across barriers and value building community with girls from diverse social, economic and educational backgrounds.

• Localizing the “Talk. They Hear You” Messaging Campaign to Decrease Substance Use in Ohio

  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign is a national public health initiative aimed at preventing underage drinking and substance use among youth. Its primary goal is to empower parents, caregivers, educators, and community members to have early and ongoing conversations with young people (ages 9-21) about the dangers and consequences of alcohol and other drug use. The campaign includes evidence-based, turn-key creative materials that can be co-branded so communities reach their residents with the messages in a way that best resonates with them. This session will explore lessons learned and insights from a multi-tiered initiative coordinated by the Ohio Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Prevention and Promotion (Center) to provide 27 communities across Ohio with $10,000 each in grant funding to amplify the campaign’s messages in their communities between January and March 24, 2025. Grantees were required to participate in the learning community to grow with and learn from each other, while building infrastructure and capacity for community-based prevention through the development of a logic chain that corresponds to their project. The Center complimented local dissemination efforts with a mass media campaign that aired via broadcast television and radio in each funded community, and through streaming services, social media geofencing, digital marketing, and an email campaign.

• Grieving During Transitional Years: Interventions and Healing for Teens & Young Adults.

  While grief is a normal reaction to death, youth grieve differently than older adults. The loss of a significant person impacts all facets of their lives, including feelings, reactions, behaviors, relationships, school, work, etc. Adolescents and young adults are uniquely facing several milestones that can impact their developmental trajectory. This session will educate and help equip participants to understand theoretical frameworks of grief, understand and assess grief’s impact on youth and provide hands-on interventions that support adolescents and young adults ages 15-25 years old. Interventions include grief education, expressive modalities, story sharing, continuing bonds, building coping skills and fostering community.