Saturday May 13 at 10:00 am, community members, parents, and local organizations are coming together at the South Regional Library in support of student mental health needs. Saturday’s workshop, hosted by Empowered Parents in Community (EPiC), will focus on connecting parents to one another, exploring mental health resources, and increasing resiliency. The workshop’s discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Wanda Boone, an expert in the field of Resilience/Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma informed living. With 1 in 4 U.S. high school students experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, this workshop will focus on teaching parents and community members how to support the unique mental health needs of teens in our community.
Every parent has an ACES, or Adverse Childhood Experiences score, and children in our community are developing their ACES score each and every day. This workshop is designed to help parents understand adverse experiences and gain tools to incorporate protective factors and resilience into their everyday lives. Additionally, this weekend’s workshop will equip local parents with skills and resources to lessen the impact of adverse experiences their children may encounter.
“Our young people are navigating arduous, unprecedented times. In the midst of tensions from gun violence, racism, discrimination, and the stress of COVID-19 recovery, our young people need our support now more than ever before,” Jovonia Lewis, Executive Director of EPiC said. “Our hope for this workshop is to come alongside parents in our community and help them gain knowledge about resources that support the mental health and resiliency of their teens.”
“We have more reasons than ever before to come together in support of the parents and teens in our community, “ Toyia Williams, Program Director at EPiC stated. “We must help our parents navigate Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s). Supportive networks, co-parenting and community practices that support student’s emotional health and wellness are just a few of the essential elements needed to support our teens and their mental well-being.”
Background:
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EPiC, Empowered Parents in Community (EPiC-NC.org) was established in 2019
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Empowered Parents in Community, EPiC, is a non-profit, 501c3, that aims to cultivate parent leadership and improve family engagement to better support their students’ educational needs. Our mission is to dismantle systemic racial inequities in education.
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North Carolina was ranked 42 of the 50 states for overall youth mental health, according to a mental health report card by the mental health organization Hopeful Futures.
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The workshop will begin promptly at 10:00am, and will conclude at 11:30am
For more information, please contact:
Toyia Williams
Program Director
Empowered Parents in Community
919-200-0862
Local Event To Support Student Mental Health Needs was originally published on foxync.com