It has been a while since our last post, and things have been incredibly busy at the harris project. With the one year anniversary of harris’s death on October 23rd, it was an extremely emotional time for everyone who knew and loved harris. Since I believe that the work that is taking place through the harris project is becoming so much bigger than our individual story, I feel that it is extremely important to keep this page focused on the many things that are being accomplished through the harris project. So I deliberately took a break from posting to allow my family, harris’s friends and me to process everything that we have been experiencing in a more private way. But there is so much happening that it is time to share all of it with you our supporters and friends: As a way to celebrate harris’s life, on October 23rd we sponsored a Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training. We invited local clergy, school personnel, recreational department staff, sports leadership, and other community leaders who work with young people and their families to participate in this certification program designed to teach skills for helping young people with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. YMHFA introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan for how to help young people in both crisis and non-crisis situations. The course also builds an understanding of the importance of early intervention. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders. YMHFA is an evidence-based, nationally recognized program that has received wide scale support from both the White House and bi-partisan members of Congress. The day was extremely successful and rewarding, and the feedback was extremely positive, including: “Stephanie, I just wanted to say thank you for the training. I cant give too many details but right after this workshop I had a situation at school that this training really prepared me for. Thank you.” “Hi Stephanie, It really was a productive training. I am glad I could be a part of it. Please keep us posted as developments are made with the below initiatives. Thanks” And even more astounding was how this one day training served as a springboard for many additional initiatives we are now working on, including: TEACHER YMHFA. Providing classroom professionals with YMHFA training could have an extraordinarily positive impact on the lives of our children because it would give teachers a mental health perspective they more than likely do not have. As the initial eyes and ears on many emerging issues, they can be key players in opening a dialogue between the classroom, guidance, the student and family, and outside professionals. I have several meetings coming up with local school districts to coordinate training opportunities; REFERRAL SYMPOSIUM. A concern I have, particularly based on my experience with harris, is the lack of well-trained community professionals that our school guidance departments can refer students and families to when mental health and/or substance abuse issues arise. YMHFA is an initial and important step, but it is also critical that when a referral is made to an outside professional that that person is truly an expert employing best and evidentiary based practices. the harris project is coordinating a Spring symposium with the goal of creating the most comprehensive list of qualified professionals/experts available in our county and surrounding areas to address the specific mental health needs that may arise in our local youth. In addition, it is our hope that this group of professionals will also address with our young people and their families the link between mental health issues and substance abuse (co-occurring disorders), and the disastrous consequences this combination can have. As you know, it is extremely difficult to treat co-occurring disorders (COD), so if we can head off substance abuse before it ever begins, it is far easier to treat the mental health piece alone; RA YMHFA. Resident Advisors are often the first “go to” people for college students, particularly freshmen, living in campus-run housing. But very few universities and colleges have training programs like that provided with YMHFA for their RAs. the harris project is in discussions with Mercy College to pilot RA YMHFA training for this January. I am confident that this will lead to further expansion of the YMHFA training program for RAs on other college campuses; COACHES YMHFA and supporting topics. From participant profile forms to sensitivity regarding their participants mental/emotional needs to actual YMHFA training to provide an opportunity for a safe haven team placement for our more vulnerable youth, there is clearly value and benefit to raising awareness about mental health issues (particularly anxiety) in the sports environment. This can be a game changer for many young people, like harris, who often leave a sport due to mental health obstacles and a lack of understanding/training on the part of coaches. It is amazing that so much besides the actual training took place on October 23rd, and we are so proud to have sponsored this event. Special thanks to Julie Klaber, Ali Mariani and Westchester Community Services and the Village of Ardsley for helping make this event a success. I have also been presenting “the harris project” program to high school and college students in our efforts to raise awareness about COD, to help young people make better choices, and to share our personal story of harriss life, his battle with COD, his death, and our mission and vision for the harris project. What I have learned through these speaking opportunities is how important it is for the audience to see someone come through a situation as tragic as the loss of a child very determined to make a difference for others. Yes, it is very hard to do, yes, I do tear up when I am speaking, but no I would never give up the opportunity to help another person learn about COD, and hopefully make a difference in someone’s life in some small way. I was so happy to get this email after speaking at a high school just about a week ago: “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to speak at our Youth to Youth meeting…. Your presentation was informative, meaningful, and really impacted the students. They came away with such a better understanding of co-occurring disorder and the message to be kind because you never know what someone is going through. You’re truly an amazing person-channeling your grief into an awareness effort and saving lives in the process is so inspiring. Harris must be so proud ☺ The kids are very excited to keep the message of The Harris Project alive. After Thanksgiving, I’ll be in touch to see how else we can collaborate.” Another thing that happens through the harris project is I get to hear from individual people. They reach out via this facebook page, harriss facebook page or email. I respond to every person I hear from, and I am honored that they choose to share their personal stories with me. We support each other, and I am inspired by them each and everyday. They keep me motivated to continue our mission and vision of making a difference for those with COD and their families and loved ones. With everyone’s busy schedules we finally have a date for our first Board meeting. It will be on January 21, 2015. I will definitely give you more information about our amazing Board right after that meeting!! Finally, if you are interested in doing a fundraiser or making a donation to the harris project, checks can be made payable to “the harris project” and mailed to 19 Faith Lane, Ardsley, NY 10502. There are no salaries being paid to anyone at “the harris project”. 100% of your dollars are spent on our program and programs we support like YMHFA. Please be grateful for everything wonderful and not so wonderful this holiday season. Hopefully you will recognize like I have that there is something to be learned from every experience we have in life, both good and bad. Best wishes for health and happiness. Til my next update… xoxo, stephanie (alan and jensyn too)
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:16:16 +0000
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