May 25, 2024 • 10 mins
Young people around the nation are struggling with a mental health crisis that's only been exacerbated since the height of the COVID pandemic. Anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts are nothing new to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and young people are often more willing to open up about their mental health struggles. The NAN Project is working one-on-one with young people, their schools, their families, and even local law enforcement to offer support and solutions. Jake Cavanaugh, Executive Director of The NAN Project, joins Nichole this week to tell their story and share details about their efforts in schools around Massachusetts.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend. Each week
we come together and talk about allthe topics important to you and the place
where you live. It's so goodto be back with you again this Memorial
Day weekend. I'm Nicole Davis.It is certainly no secret that our young
people are struggling with a mental healthcrisis here in the United States. We've
talked about this quite a bit inthe news on WBZ as reports say,
(00:29):
the isolation, the uncertainty, thehuge changes to their lives during the height
of the pandemic actually exacerbated many mentalhealth concerns that were already under the surface
for our youngest generations. We're talkingdepression, anxiety, and for some even
suicidal ideations. There is a lotof talk about what to do here about
this crisis. Everybody has an opinion, but here in Massachusetts, the NAN
(00:51):
Project is working one on one withthese young people, pulling in their schools
and their families to offer solutions.We're talking education, support, compassion,
community all through programming which hopes tohelp break the stigma. Jake Kavanaugh is
the executive director of the NAN Project. Jake, appreciate your time here,
I know this is work that actuallymeans a lot to you personally. Tell
us more about what the NAN Projectdoes and where you do it, how
(01:15):
you get this done. So,the NAN Project is an organization that works
to promote mental health education and suicideprevention programs in schools all over Massachusetts.
NAN is actually the name of mysister Nancy Kavanaugh, who passed away from
suicide back in twenty twelve, whowe named the organization after all. Right,
(01:36):
so then how do you work withschools to get this programming out there?
So our goal is really to getkids talking about mental health, take
down some of the stigma that surroundsmental health. And the way that we
do that is through a peer topure model, And what that means is
we work with young adults who havelived experience with mental health challenges. They
come through training with us to learnto talk about their stories from a place
(01:59):
of stress. Thanks. So,our peer mentors go through a four day
training where they learn to write downtheir story and how to present about the
topic of mental health and talk aboutwhat some of the struggles were that they
faced with their own mental health,but really focus on what helped them,
where were they able to go towhen they were going through those tough times.
But more importantly, what are theresources that they've come to rely on
(02:22):
now? Yeah, And I meanbeing a teenager is a really tough time.
I think that you're figuring your ownlife out, and there's bullying and
there's a lot of pressure, especiallywith social media, and resources like that
are really important, especially these days. Absolutely absolutely. I mean, we
know being a teenager is tough,but it's even more tough if you don't
(02:43):
feel like you can talk to anyoneabout some of the depression and anxiety,
whatever it is that they might begoing through. So we want to really
bring that out from under the darknessand make it something that they know is
okay to be having those feelings,having those struggles, but also know that
there's a lot of help out therefor them sources, there's people that they
can talk to, there's different copingstrategies that they can learn, There's lots
(03:05):
of things that they can do tohelp their own mental health for sure.
So how do you work with schools? Then? How do you reach out
to schools? Do they reach outto you? How do you get connected?
So when we've got started back intwenty sixteen, we were knocking on
a lot of doors. We're tryingto get into those health classes, and
it was tough because we were promotinga new program that hadn't been tried or
tested anywhere, and a lot ofschools reasonably were a little bit hesitant to
(03:29):
bring us in. Now, it'sreally through word of mouth. We are
at capacity for our current year.We're always looking to add new schools,
but there is such a demand formental health resources out there that we can
barely keep up with what is neededright now. Yeah, I believe that,
And of course there's a lot ofstories out there too about I guess
a lack or shortage of mental healthcare workers. So you know, this
(03:51):
makes your work even more important becauseright now a lot of kids might not
be able to get into a providersimply because there's just a shortage of providers.
Yeah, that's absolutely true, andwe want kids to be talking about
and thinking about their mental health beforethey get to a crisis point. There's
not just a lack of providers,there's a lack of beds and in patient
hospitals. We also know that asof September of this year, as SERVE
(04:15):
funding which is an art book programfrom the pandemic era that a lot of
schools used to hire new student supportstaff. That's coming to an end.
So that's been two point nine billiondollars over the last three years that Massachusetts
schools are no longer going to haveaccess to. We're trying to step in
and support those schools as we can. Yeah, I mean, what is
(04:36):
the plan moving forward? What aredistricts trying to do here to fill that
gap. They're doing everything they can, but we're hearing there's going to be
a number of layoffs amongst school counselors, adjustment counselors, guidance counselors, school
psychologists. So we're concerned, butwe are trying to step in. We
(04:56):
are offering sel programming to schools,we are offer during more of our pure
mentor presentations to schools. We're reallytrying to meet schools where there are and
assist them so that they can bettersupport their students. Yeah. I also
noticed that you've got a program aswell for first responders, which I think
is pretty cool. So tell usa bit about that. Sure, So
we do training with police departments,fire departments, police academies, and it's
(05:21):
all about equipping them with the toolsso that when they're responding to a mental
health call, they're doing it ina way that's compassionate, that's trauma informed,
that they're not exacerbating the situation.We want first responders to go in
if there's a kid who's struggling withdepression or anxiety and really having a tough
(05:43):
time, they know how best todeal with that situation. So we do
a mental health one oh one wherewe teach these folks out what a young
person struggling with mental health could looklike, and then how do you open
up that conversation with them? Whatare some language that you can use with
them? Yeah, reaching out tokids, I think is a whole different
(06:03):
ballgame than I think police officer wouldbe responding perhaps to somebody who's dealing with
a drug addiction, or somebody whois dealing with a mental breakdown who's an
adult and a home dealing with kids, it's a whole other level that you
have to really take a different approachwith. Yeah. Yeah, And I
think the good thing that we're seeingis a lot of police departments are now
(06:23):
bringing on clinicians for ride alongs thatthey're better equipped to respond to these mental
health calls as well. So wedo offer that as a surface to a
couple of different police departments, butit is really just equipping the everyday officer
with those tools that they feel comfortabletalking to a young person who's maybe suicidal
(06:44):
and kind of talking to them aboutwhat resources and what supports and offering them
a glimmer of hope, you know. I mean, I'm an older millennial
and exxennial, I guess they callus now. I don't even know anymore,
but you know, it's really refreshingto see these efforts to words helping
teens who are gen z jen alphareally talk about their mental health because I
(07:04):
know that when I was a kid, this wasn't really a thing. I
don't know how old you are,but I know that when I was a
child, like we didn't have theseresources in schools or school counselors didn't have
resources like this. So this isreally refreshing to see. Frankly, yeah,
and that's where it's all born outof. I feel like if more
people around men had been equipped withthe tools to recognize when she was struggling,
(07:26):
she could have had a very differenttrajectory. I mean, back when
I was in school, I learneddepression you get sad. Sometimes, anxiety
you get anxious. We never reallylearned how deeply it could affect someone,
and really how to start conversations withsomeone who's struggling. I think something interesting
that we see with a lot ofyoung people these days is that they're actually
better informed around mental health challenges andwhat they look like and how to talk
(07:50):
about them than their parents. Soanother whole aspect to this is is providing
some of that education for the olderfolks in their life, whether they're guardians
or parents or relatives. And youknow, May is Mental Health Awareness month,
so it's a perfect time to betalking about this. I know you
recently had a summit. Tell usa bit about that and what else you
(08:11):
have planned for the month. Yeah, it was great. So a week
and a half ago we had asummit in Danvers at Danversport and we brought
together students over one hundred and fiftystudents from twenty schools all across the state.
And summit was built around empowering youthvoices. So what that meant is
we ran a number of workshops wherewe had outside organizations come in and figure
(08:33):
out or teach the students around howthey can amplify their voices and create a
safer space in the field of mentalhealth. So we had folks who talked
about how to advocate on Meacon Hillor mental health causes. We had folks
who came in and did programs aroundhow do you just bring it up in
your school and run a program inyour school to create a culture of wellness
(08:58):
in social emotional works being in yourschool. We also had the Commissioner of
the Department of Mental Health come inand spoke about how important the youth voice
is. So really it was ourfirst time trying this and we'll definitely be
doing it again next year. Whatelse are you doing to mark Mental Health
Awareness Month? We will be doinga series of mentor trainings where we're trying
(09:20):
to train young adults to come workwith us. Where you know, we're
getting to the end of the schoolyear, so this is always a really
busy time of year for us.We're going to be presenting at two conferences
in the next two weeks, theYouth at Risk Conference and another one out
in the western part of the state, so we're staying busy. We're just
trying to get the word out therearound how important that it is to talk
(09:41):
about in normalize the conversation around mentalhealth. Love it all right, So,
how can people find you? Howcan they connect with you and all
the work you're doing so they canfollow us on Facebook or Instagram if you
look up the nand Project. Ifanyone is interested in getting more information about
us, or possibly us to theircommunity or their school, they can email
(10:03):
us at info at the nanproject dotorg. All Right, info at the
Nanproject dot org. Well, Jake, this is great work you're doing.
Thank you so much for working withour kids and keeping them healthy and happy
and all the best to you.Thank you so much for amplifying this message.
We really do appreciate the time you'vegiven us. All Right, have
a safe and healthy weekend. Pleasejoin me again next week for another edition
(10:26):
of the show. I'm Nicole Davisfrom WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston.This is New England Weekend. Each week
we come together and talk about allthe topics important to you and the place
where you live. It's so goodto be back with you again this Memorial
Day weekend. I'm Nicole Davis.It is certainly no secret that our young
people are struggling with a mental healthcrisis here in the United States. We've
talked about this quite a bit inthe news on WBZ as reports say,
(00:29):
the isolation, the uncertainty, thehuge changes to their lives during the height
of the pandemic actually exacerbated many mentalhealth concerns that were already under the surface
for our youngest generations. We're talkingdepression, anxiety, and for some even
suicidal ideations. There is a lotof talk about what to do here about
this crisis. Everybody has an opinion, but here in Massachusetts, the NAN
(00:51):
Project is working one on one withthese young people, pulling in their schools
and their families to offer solutions.We're talking education, support, compassion,
community all through programming which hopes tohelp break the stigma. Jake Kavanaugh is
the executive director of the NAN Project. Jake, appreciate your time here,
I know this is work that actuallymeans a lot to you personally. Tell
us more about what the NAN Projectdoes and where you do it, how
(01:15):
you get this done. So,the NAN Project is an organization that works
to promote mental health education and suicideprevention programs in schools all over Massachusetts.
NAN is actually the name of mysister Nancy Kavanaugh, who passed away from
suicide back in twenty twelve, whowe named the organization after all. Right,
(01:36):
so then how do you work withschools to get this programming out there?
So our goal is really to getkids talking about mental health, take
down some of the stigma that surroundsmental health. And the way that we
do that is through a peer topure model, And what that means is
we work with young adults who havelived experience with mental health challenges. They
come through training with us to learnto talk about their stories from a place
(01:59):
of stress. Thanks. So,our peer mentors go through a four day
training where they learn to write downtheir story and how to present about the
topic of mental health and talk aboutwhat some of the struggles were that they
faced with their own mental health,but really focus on what helped them,
where were they able to go towhen they were going through those tough times.
But more importantly, what are theresources that they've come to rely on
(02:22):
now? Yeah, And I meanbeing a teenager is a really tough time.
I think that you're figuring your ownlife out, and there's bullying and
there's a lot of pressure, especiallywith social media, and resources like that
are really important, especially these days. Absolutely absolutely. I mean, we
know being a teenager is tough,but it's even more tough if you don't
(02:43):
feel like you can talk to anyoneabout some of the depression and anxiety,
whatever it is that they might begoing through. So we want to really
bring that out from under the darknessand make it something that they know is
okay to be having those feelings,having those struggles, but also know that
there's a lot of help out therefor them sources, there's people that they
can talk to, there's different copingstrategies that they can learn, There's lots
(03:05):
of things that they can do tohelp their own mental health for sure.
So how do you work with schools? Then? How do you reach out
to schools? Do they reach outto you? How do you get connected?
So when we've got started back intwenty sixteen, we were knocking on
a lot of doors. We're tryingto get into those health classes, and
it was tough because we were promotinga new program that hadn't been tried or
tested anywhere, and a lot ofschools reasonably were a little bit hesitant to
(03:29):
bring us in. Now, it'sreally through word of mouth. We are
at capacity for our current year.We're always looking to add new schools,
but there is such a demand formental health resources out there that we can
barely keep up with what is neededright now. Yeah, I believe that,
And of course there's a lot ofstories out there too about I guess
a lack or shortage of mental healthcare workers. So you know, this
(03:51):
makes your work even more important becauseright now a lot of kids might not
be able to get into a providersimply because there's just a shortage of providers.
Yeah, that's absolutely true, andwe want kids to be talking about
and thinking about their mental health beforethey get to a crisis point. There's
not just a lack of providers,there's a lack of beds and in patient
hospitals. We also know that asof September of this year, as SERVE
(04:15):
funding which is an art book programfrom the pandemic era that a lot of
schools used to hire new student supportstaff. That's coming to an end.
So that's been two point nine billiondollars over the last three years that Massachusetts
schools are no longer going to haveaccess to. We're trying to step in
and support those schools as we can. Yeah, I mean, what is
(04:36):
the plan moving forward? What aredistricts trying to do here to fill that
gap. They're doing everything they can, but we're hearing there's going to be
a number of layoffs amongst school counselors, adjustment counselors, guidance counselors, school
psychologists. So we're concerned, butwe are trying to step in. We
(04:56):
are offering sel programming to schools,we are offer during more of our pure
mentor presentations to schools. We're reallytrying to meet schools where there are and
assist them so that they can bettersupport their students. Yeah. I also
noticed that you've got a program aswell for first responders, which I think
is pretty cool. So tell usa bit about that. Sure, So
we do training with police departments,fire departments, police academies, and it's
(05:21):
all about equipping them with the toolsso that when they're responding to a mental
health call, they're doing it ina way that's compassionate, that's trauma informed,
that they're not exacerbating the situation.We want first responders to go in
if there's a kid who's struggling withdepression or anxiety and really having a tough
(05:43):
time, they know how best todeal with that situation. So we do
a mental health one oh one wherewe teach these folks out what a young
person struggling with mental health could looklike, and then how do you open
up that conversation with them? Whatare some language that you can use with
them? Yeah, reaching out tokids, I think is a whole different
(06:03):
ballgame than I think police officer wouldbe responding perhaps to somebody who's dealing with
a drug addiction, or somebody whois dealing with a mental breakdown who's an
adult and a home dealing with kids, it's a whole other level that you
have to really take a different approachwith. Yeah. Yeah, And I
think the good thing that we're seeingis a lot of police departments are now
(06:23):
bringing on clinicians for ride alongs thatthey're better equipped to respond to these mental
health calls as well. So wedo offer that as a surface to a
couple of different police departments, butit is really just equipping the everyday officer
with those tools that they feel comfortabletalking to a young person who's maybe suicidal
(06:44):
and kind of talking to them aboutwhat resources and what supports and offering them
a glimmer of hope, you know. I mean, I'm an older millennial
and exxennial, I guess they callus now. I don't even know anymore,
but you know, it's really refreshingto see these efforts to words helping
teens who are gen z jen alphareally talk about their mental health because I
(07:04):
know that when I was a kid, this wasn't really a thing. I
don't know how old you are,but I know that when I was a
child, like we didn't have theseresources in schools or school counselors didn't have
resources like this. So this isreally refreshing to see. Frankly, yeah,
and that's where it's all born outof. I feel like if more
people around men had been equipped withthe tools to recognize when she was struggling,
(07:26):
she could have had a very differenttrajectory. I mean, back when
I was in school, I learneddepression you get sad. Sometimes, anxiety
you get anxious. We never reallylearned how deeply it could affect someone,
and really how to start conversations withsomeone who's struggling. I think something interesting
that we see with a lot ofyoung people these days is that they're actually
better informed around mental health challenges andwhat they look like and how to talk
(07:50):
about them than their parents. Soanother whole aspect to this is is providing
some of that education for the olderfolks in their life, whether they're guardians
or parents or relatives. And youknow, May is Mental Health Awareness month,
so it's a perfect time to betalking about this. I know you
recently had a summit. Tell usa bit about that and what else you
(08:11):
have planned for the month. Yeah, it was great. So a week
and a half ago we had asummit in Danvers at Danversport and we brought
together students over one hundred and fiftystudents from twenty schools all across the state.
And summit was built around empowering youthvoices. So what that meant is
we ran a number of workshops wherewe had outside organizations come in and figure
(08:33):
out or teach the students around howthey can amplify their voices and create a
safer space in the field of mentalhealth. So we had folks who talked
about how to advocate on Meacon Hillor mental health causes. We had folks
who came in and did programs aroundhow do you just bring it up in
your school and run a program inyour school to create a culture of wellness
(08:58):
in social emotional works being in yourschool. We also had the Commissioner of
the Department of Mental Health come inand spoke about how important the youth voice
is. So really it was ourfirst time trying this and we'll definitely be
doing it again next year. Whatelse are you doing to mark Mental Health
Awareness Month? We will be doinga series of mentor trainings where we're trying
(09:20):
to train young adults to come workwith us. Where you know, we're
getting to the end of the schoolyear, so this is always a really
busy time of year for us.We're going to be presenting at two conferences
in the next two weeks, theYouth at Risk Conference and another one out
in the western part of the state, so we're staying busy. We're just
trying to get the word out therearound how important that it is to talk
(09:41):
about in normalize the conversation around mentalhealth. Love it all right, So,
how can people find you? Howcan they connect with you and all
the work you're doing so they canfollow us on Facebook or Instagram if you
look up the nand Project. Ifanyone is interested in getting more information about
us, or possibly us to theircommunity or their school, they can email
(10:03):
us at info at the nanproject dotorg. All Right, info at the
Nanproject dot org. Well, Jake, this is great work you're doing.
Thank you so much for working withour kids and keeping them healthy and happy
and all the best to you.Thank you so much for amplifying this message.
We really do appreciate the time you'vegiven us. All Right, have
a safe and healthy weekend. Pleasejoin me again next week for another edition
(10:26):
of the show. I'm Nicole Davisfrom WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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