Mental Health Literacy for our Youth  

Imagine our youth empowered around their mental well-being. I look forward to the day when mental health literacy is fully integrated into the overall health curriculum of schools. I know it is coming and that excites me!

Let’s face it our kids are stressed. They are over-tested and have even more aggressive schedules than we ever had growing up. And, they have this massive and all-consuming online world to deal with that includes an entirely different kind of acceptance. Combine all of this with the high expectations of getting into the best colleges and you have the perfect recipe for becoming mentally unwell.

I imagined healthier and empowered children when I created Perfect, Just the Way You Are, a wellness program that teaches children how to nourish their minds along with their bodies. The after-school enrichment program has been running since 2013 thanks to the support of our Hispanic ERG and the generous volunteers at J&J. The program has touched the lives of many kids and their families throughout NY, NJ, and PA.

Project Perfect, Just the Way You Are provides kids with a basic understanding of their feelings and empowers them with coping mechanisms and tools to effectively manage those feelings. This includes understanding how stress and anxiety feels in the body and teaches them ways that they can use their minds and their breathing to release stress to become grounded again. The other part of Perfect that I love includes the exercises that connect them to their individual strengths and their dreams for the future. Additionally, we teach them to reflect on their many blesses by inviting them to practice gratitude regularly. We also spend time talking about the importance of having deep compassion for others by stepping into someone else’s shoes.

Project Perfect, Just the Way You Are also bolsters self-esteem. Each child leaves the program feeling really good about themselves and empowered around the mental and physical wellbeing. They also walk away fully connected to who they are and to their limitless potential. Getting to witnessing that truly makes my heart sing.

They say it takes a village. I believe that we can all do something small to empower our kids and that we should. I am reminded of this quote by Frederick Douglass…

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

MY BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON IN PAPERBACK AND eBook!