The Wellness & Prevention Center, in partnership with the Orange County Health Care Agency, invites you to join us for a performance of Speak UP! on April 24th from 7pm – 8:30pm at the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano. This event is recommended for adults and teens ages 14-years and up.
Speak UP!© is an original, award-winning play written by Hannah Billups, Raiya Browning, Hannah Loessberg, and Griffin Webb. It is performed by students for teens and adults. This play gives voice to some of the most troubling and traumatic issues facing young people today. The often-taboo topics of sexual assault, harassment, identity, and suicide are brought to the stage in a powerful 25-minute performance that serves as a catalyst for conversation afterward.
The playwrights attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School and created this play as part of their social emotional peer-to-peer education program, designed to support students and open discussion about emotions and the diseases of mental health. The Speak UP! production has grown into a non-profit that promotes the tools for this play across the country to other teen performance groups. The Wellness & Prevention Center has partnered with TheatreOnPurpose.org to bring this production to adults and young people in south Orange County.
After the performance, there will be a discussion panel featuring teens, young adults, and mental health professionals. Parents and teens will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear some of the challenges these teens and young adults face and how they cope with these challenges that come their way. Please note that some of the topics may be triggering so mental health professionals will be on-site during and after the performance if attendees would like to talk with someone.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health 49.5% of adolescents ages 13-18 live with a mental disorder and more than 1 in 5 (22.2%) of them experience a severe impairment.
For those who experience a mental health disorder 50% of all mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75% by the mid-20s. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people age 15-19 in the United States. Efforts to reduce stigma related to mental health and increase access to care helps to improve these statistics.
Through grant funding from the Orange County Health Care Agency and in collaboration with other youth-serving organizations, the Wellness & Prevention Center provides community events designed to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health, to ensure that young people have access to supportive care since early access to care when symptoms are mild are more easily treated. The long-term goal of these supportive programs and events are to promote healthier and happier lives, lower suicide attempts by young people, and lower deaths by suicide.
The Wellness & Prevention Center has a team of mental health professionals who are here to help and answer questions you have about the well-being and mental health of young people in your life. If you note any changes in social interactions, grades, motivation to participate in activities, or any other behavior that may be atypical for your 12–25-year-old, we recommend initiating a conversation with them and offering your support. If you need resources to assist in talking about mental health and well-being, please visit https://wpc-oc.org/the-talk/. Or give us a call at 949-649-9460.
We hope to see you at the upcoming Speak Up! performance. Register for free tickets at:
https://www.eventcombo.com/e/award-winning-play-speakup-70235
Event Details:
Camino Real Playhouse
31776 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
7pm – 8:30pm
Doors open at 6:30pm