HHS to host teen mental health forums
Dec 10, 2018 -- Posted by :By Cory Erickson, Hillsboro Banner
Teenage mental health will be the focus of a pair of presentations Monday at Hillsboro High School.
The school gymnasium will host a pair of assemblies on the topic thanks in part to help from the Hillsboro-Central Valley Booster Club.
The organization Imagine Thriving will present the 50-minute depression documentary “Not Alone” at 1 p.m. Monday for students, followed by a panel discussion.
That evening at 7 p.m., the community is invited to watch the video and participate in a conversation about the topic at the high school.
“It’s something that is a concern in our area, just like in all schools,” said Hillsboro Public Schools Superintendent Paula Suda. “This might help to steer these kids to get help.”
Imagine Thriving was founded in 2013 by former Valley News Live anchor Stephanie Goetz, whose brother, Cam, committed suicide in 2002.
The organization seeks to eliminate stigmas surrounding mental illness and increase access to care for young people struggling with depression.
“Everything on social media and TV, and what these kids are seeing and the questions they have, they might not be talking about them,” Suda said.
The Hillsboro superintendent said a local parent approached the school earlier this school year about hosting Imagine Thriving after seeing the organization’s presentation in Fargo.
The “Not Alone” film, which was made in 2016 by a teenager, seeks to understand why depression, anxiety and mental illness happen and how to treat them.
The video was previewed by school staff and is available on Netflix.
“It’s a nice documentary,” Suda said. “Hopefully we get some ideas and make things better for our kids.”
Suda added that the school’s access to mental health care has been aided this year thanks to a grant from the Burgum Foundation.
That money has paid for a therapist from The Village Family Service Center in Fargo to visit Hillsboro schools every Tuesday.
At the local high school, students also are relationship-mapped to trusted staff members.
The process lets kids know there is someone at the school who will listen to them.
Suda said that the school will do what they can for the students, but she hopes parents come to the Imagine Thriving presentation Monday evening.
“You have to have these discussions with kids at home,” she said. “Keep bringing them up.”
For students currently struggling with depression or mental illness, Suda said she hopes Monday’s presentation will help, but she offered this advice to all young people.
“Go to an adult who you trust and tell them what you need or who we can talk to,” she said.
“Hopefully you have one adult you can trust. Just ask for help.”