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SALEM -- The Brightside Project will be collaborating with Church United and Insight Clinical Counseling and Wellness LLC to host a youth summit to promote social, emotional, and mental wellness in Columbiana County teens.
The summit, to be held April 13 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kent State City Center at 230 N. Lincoln Ave., with registration beginning at 8 a.m., is a free event open to any Columbiana County resident ages 13 through 18. Registration for the event is already underway, and interested parents and guardians can register their teens at www.brightsideprojectohio.org, and teens are invited to follow the Youth Summit on Instagram at youthsummit--ohio.
The summit will feature motivational speaker Markus Mcfolling and will "be packed with life-changing information, inspirational messages and relevant blitz sessions to give hope, build resilience and help teens reach their full potential." The summit aims to present a "faith-based approach" to key matters including character development, personal values, healthy relationships, self-worth, purpose, and mental health.
Each teen will receive a free T-shirt and goodie bag and can enjoy several exciting activities including: positive and uplifting music, dodgeball, Nerf wars, creative sessions, a snack bar sponsored by The Brightside Project, root beer on tap from Kast Iron Soda Works, and more.
Vittorio said that Insight counseling will also have an "Insight Room," at the summit which will be "equipped with professional clinicians," to provide a space where participants can safely talk about or work through any issues they may be having.
Teens will also receive breakfast provided by the Salem Regional Medical Center and lunch from Chick-fil-A. Vittorio said that dinner would also be provided but that no sponsor had been secured for dinner thus far, and that they are seeking a sponsor for a coffee bar.
Vittorio explained that the inspiration for the event dated back to a women's empowerment retreat she had organized at another job, where she saw the positive impact that a faith-based approach to mental health services can have for a person.
"I saw what can happen in the life of an individual when you take the faith-based approach and combine it with the world of mental health, it can be life-changing for a person. After that event someone mentioned that it would be great to do something like that for the youth in the community, and I held onto it for three years and it's finally coming to be," said Vittorio.
Vittorio said the decision was made to focus on teen mental health specifically, due to the amount of adversity, and vulnerability that teens experience.
"That middle school, high school group are getting closer to adulthood, and they are probably the age group that are the most lost and confused as far as identity, and purpose, and facing the most severe challenges as far as bullying, mental health issues, suicide, it's just a vulnerable age. I've seen many of them struggle with the sort of issues we'll be handling at the summit firsthand," said Vittorio.
Vittorio explained that of the participants that had already signed up for the summit she knew there were teens that had experienced abuse, and neglect, and struggled with establishing, maintaining and enforcing healthy relationships.
"We have right now eight or nine just since registration opened, and from those nine I know there's trauma from sexual abuse, emotional, mental and physical abuse, neglect, lack of support in the home, bullying, identity issues, and unhealthy relationships. Kids these days don't know how to interact in a healthy way with friendships or romantic relationships, and I think social media plays a huge part in that," said Vittorio.
While Vittorio noted that healthy relationships and social skills would be "more of a background," idea throughout summit programming, Brightside Project Program Coordinator Kierstin Fillman explained that addressing the lager background issues would help to improve social skills.
"Teenagers struggle with social skills because of all the underlying issues so by addressing social anxiety and other issues in that realm, there will be a correlated improvement in social skills," said Fillman.
Vittorio said that while Brightside currently did not have plans for further dedicated mental health programming, that all of their programming works to support the mental health and self-esteem of children in need.
"We take a comprehensive approach to a child's well-being and that includes meeting their physical needs, supporting their social emotional development, and their spiritual development as well. Not necessarily offering mental health specific programs, but everything we do is supporting their mental health, I think all of our programs giving them a safe place where they encounter positive loving adult role models, they're practicing making their own choices, building their self-esteem and personal power, that all plays into supporting their mental health," said Vittorio.
However, Vittorio said moving forward Brightside would be focusing on helping kids to discover their "Spark," which Vittorio explains is a term developed by the Search Institute meaning a specific child's "passion or what lights them up inside," and that children who are able to identify their "Spark" and explore it with adult support are "more likely to thrive." Vittorio also said that while all people have one, a full third of children are unable to identify their "Spark," and while details weren't clear yet, the programming would provide opportunities to find and explore their "Spark."
Vittorio's own daughter Cassidy Wallace, a current Salem High School student, said that she felt the summit would benefit people her age and help them to identify their "Spark."
"I think the youth Summit is going to be valuable to kids my age. I feel like teens really need it right now because a lot of teenagers really don't know what their spark is, and I think it really important for them to find out," said Wallace.
Brightside is also seeking sponsors to help cover the cost of the event, those interested in showing their support can find more information at www.brightsideproject.ohio.org or by calling 234-320-4005. The full schedule for the summit is also available on Brightside's website under the events tab.
"There is a hefty cost to implementing this, so we are looking for anyone that's interested in helping us cover the cost of the program," said Vittorio.
Vittorio stressed that any teen is welcome and encouraged to attend, and that there are no participation requirements except age, and that the event's ultimate purpose is to ensure they know that the community supports them.
"The goal is to let kids know we're here for them. A few years ago, there was a county wide survey and only 25% felt valued by the community, so it's always a goal of mine to make sure the kids know the community is there for them," said Vittorio.
mahart@mojonews.com