How to help youth in my community

How to help youth in my community

Dear Fatima,

I’ve recently realized (both through people directly telling me about their problems and through my observation of people’s behaviors) that a lot of the youth in my community seem to be struggling with depression and/or low self esteem.

While there are likely some underlying problems in their lives that has led them to this point, I think the youth in my community could benefit from some kind of a lecture and open forum about mental health issues and simple ways of dealing with them (I realize there is no simple way of dealing with these things, but I think having someone tell them that they are not alone, and maybe giving them some strategies for staying positive and getting help when they need it would be a good start). Do you know of any Muslim communities that have had such an event? Are there any mental health professionals/speakers that I could potentially contact about organizing an event? I’m not really sure how to go about doing this but I just feel like these youth are struggling and someone needs to do something about it.

Thanks for your help.


 

Note from Stones to Bridges: Thank you so much for re-emphasizing such a critical need. May Allah bless you for your desire to help the youth in your community! In addition to the avenues Fatima mentions below, we at Stones to Bridges will continue to work to identify and provide additional community based resources. In the meantime, we are happy to provide you materials to do a short 5 minute presentation at your local mosque or youth group event to inform your community of some struggles our youth are facing and that they can come to Stones to Bridges for support. Please email us at info@stonestobridges.org if you’d like to join our effort of raising awareness in your community.

Assalamu ‘alaykum,

You raise a great point and it takes a bit of courage to have these very needed conversations in many masaajid.

There are several Muslim communities across the U.S. that have started programs to address the issues you raise. Many begin with forming partnerships with local and state agencies whose mission it is to education communities about bullying, mental health, and substance use. Often these agencies are affiliated with the local Department of Health and Human Services, or Department of Social Services, and they have prepared presentations that they can often deliver in a workshop format.

Other useful partnerships are with mental health not-for-profits or mental health professionals in private practice. This allows the masjid community to start hearing about topics from experts who can discuss them in detail and answer their questions. If you find your community has resistance to holding such events, sometimes they can held less directly — for example, one could organize a workshop about caring for an elderly parent and have panelists that will talk about (1) services available through the county, (2) medical considerations, (3) mental health and family health considerations, etc. That way the mental health issues get folded into a larger conversation where they make sense.

Some communities have set up mentorship programs, and used that opportunity to train the mentors on how to identify depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc., and what to do in those circumstances to get the young person help.

Great resources are available through the Islamic Social Services Association of the USA, and through MuslimMentalHealth.com

Hopefully that gives you some places to start looking.

Wa ‘alaykum salam

Your sister in Islam,
“Fatima Z”

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Note from Stones to Bridges: Thank you so much for re-emphasizing such a critical need. May Allah bless you for your desire to help the youth in your community! In addition to the avenues Fatima mentioned, we at Stones to Bridges will continue to work to identify and provide additional community based resources. In the meantime, we are happy to provide you materials to do a short 5 minute presentation at your local mosque or youth group event to inform your community of some struggles our youth are facing and that they can come to Stones to Bridges for support.

One thought on “How to help youth in my community

  1. Salaams,

    First, I want to commend you for taking the initiative to support your community’s growth. Mental health is a topic that the Muslim community has shied away from for far too long, and often because of the stigma attached to mental health. Talking about mental health in public settings and normalizing the way in which we talk about it can really help with dismantling the stigma around mental health. Lectures and workshops on mental health at your mosque is most definitely a great first step!

    Fatima Z mentioned that a good place to start is to connect with your local department of health or non-profits that focus on mental health. I definitely agree – I work for my local health department and mental health is an emerging topic that many health departments are looking to educate communities on. In fact, often times, local health departments look for community partners to work with. If you need help contacting your local health department, I would be more than happy to help you!

    Additionally, there is an 8-hour certification that you can take called “Mental Health First Aid” that equips participants with the skills needed to help individuals who are developing or in a crisis. Very similar to first aid, mental health first aid gives you skills to help someone in an immediate situation. There is actually a youth mental health first aid which focuses on issues affecting teens and adolescents. This may be a great training for you and some other teens in your community to take so that you can serve as a resource to your other community members. You can learn more about it here: http://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/cs/

    Lastly, most states and/or counties/municipalities have a Mental Health Association. Try doing an internet search to see if there is one that serves the area where you live. MHA often hosts the mental health first aid training for free for communities. Additionally, they have a lot of community education programs and may be able to come out to your mosque to give a lecture.

    InshaAllah I hope this was helpful! It also looks like Stones to Bridges may be able to help support you so reach out to them too!