"You Are Not Alone" mental health event comes to Stanwood High School

Local students took the lead Saturday, May 16, in organizing the third annual "You Are Not Alone" event, coordinating speakers, performances and lunch as part of an effort to reduce mental health stigma among young people.

This year marked the first time the event was held at Stanwood High School. For the first two years, You Are Not Alone was hosted in Mukilteo at the Rosehill Community Center.

The high school's location offers a stronger connection to youth, who were in the spotlight at this year's event, according to organizers.

It began as an open house, providing an opportunity to browse tables and get information about a variety of behavioral health organizations in the area.

A variety of youth art was on display, and an interactive graffiti-inspired installation invited people to write and draw on a mock brick wall.

The art piece will remain at the high school for a few more days before being transferred to a county building in Everett.

CRC Teen Programs Coordinator Doug Standish said that Saturday's event provides a low-barrier way for youth to have open conversations about mental health.

Standish serves on the Snohomish County Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force. He works with the CRC's Changemakers program - a student leadership initiative that he said helps youth engage with things they're passionate about.

Teen Programs Assistant Leila Swier said that it makes a big impact for the youth involved in Saturday's event to have agency and see that their words matter.

Swier and Standish said they want to make sure people leave with contacts and resources they can refer to in the future.

"The topics and conversations the event is based around are universal," Swier said.

In the high school's performing arts center, attendees heard talks from multiple guest speakers detailing how self-harm and suicide have affected their lives.

A panel of youth speakers discussed strategies for taking care of oneself while supporting someone struggling with mental health who is thinking of harming themselves.

A high school senior doing Running Start through Everett Community College spoke about supporting a struggling family member.

An 8th-grade student shared their experience supporting an online friend - a role they took on as young as 9 years old.

Both students shared how these experiences impacted their own mental health and emphasized the importance of speaking out and seeking external resources for others who are struggling, even if they don't want help.

The student panelists, along with a peer who helped organize the event, talked about the factors that make it difficult for struggling teens to seek help.

The students said that having resources for parents is an important way to support struggling youth. Some parents, they said, find it hard to believe their children are truly struggling, making it difficult to know how to support them.

After the panel and a break for lunch, live music was provided by Mutual Stoke and CRC Amplify band Rotting Bodies In Delaware in the performing arts center.

To learn more about upcoming events and the CRC's teen programs, visit crc-sc.org.

Student support and resources are also available at stanwood.wednet.edu/for-students-families/community-resources.

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