On June 3rd, I had the honor of awarding high school diplomas to the students in the class of 2021 - in person and in front of their loved ones. I was particularly thankful to hold a traditional graduation ceremony for this group of teens who spent the last 15 months...
You might notice that there are a lot of green ribbons during the month of May. May was designated Mental Health Awareness Month by Mental Health America in 1949, to bring attention to the 18.1% of Americans who experience the diseases of mental health. The majority...
Last month, I wrote about a few of the outstanding youth leaders in South Orange County. While profiling these youth, I took time to reflect on the qualities these youth have that help them follow their passions and make a difference in their communities. And even...
In 2018, 48,344 Americans died by suicide - an average of 132 per day. It is the leading cause of death for teens nationwide. The CDC announced that, in a survey conducted this spring, 1 in 4 young people ages 18-25 reported seriously considering suicide in the past...
I admit it - I am super tired of living in a pandemic. Thankfully, I am fairly well equipped physically, socially, and emotionally to deal with this situation. There are still many days when the seemingly never-ending uncertainty and inability to control what is going...
A founding premise of the Wellness & Prevention Center is that change needs to happen community by community. Through meetings with youth, parents, community leaders, and mental health professionals, we knew that the support our young people needed was broken and...
May is mental health awareness month and I would like everyone to have a conversation with someone about mental health. Let’s be honest, we all may be struggling right now to maintain our mental health, so these discussions might be more crucial than ever. Mental...
By Gina Sisca Hazlett When Susan Parmelee asked me to write a guest Wellness & Prevention column the answer was an easy yes. The Wellness & Prevention Coalition was established to bring resources together that support healthy youth and families in South...
By Amarii Sandoval, Wellness & Prevention Coalition Youth Leadership Member In February of this year I had the opportunity to attend the 29th Annual National Leadership Forum led by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). The Forum was made up of...
I have asked Ashley Granger to write this month’s column as a preview to our January Teen Toolbox panel presentation. The pressures on our teens continue to increase, and sadly suicide is now the 2nd leading cause of death for youth ages 11-24, second only to...