Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP) held a panel discussion to address the ongoing issues of mental health in teens. - Photo by Harry Kane

By Harry Kane

School stress can arguably be attributed to the growing phenomenon of mental health issues.

Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP) held a panel discussion to address the ongoing issues of mental health in teens. The seminar focused on the improvements that should be made to support adolescents. The meeting was held at the Healy School Library on Thursday, November 3.

LoriBeth Manzolillo, an intern at SCAP, moderated the community conversation. “I think what we are getting from the meeting was that a lot of times school stress precipitated from outside events that make school difficult, like having to work after school, having a difficult home situation, making homework impossible.

SCAP is studying the various components of teen stress and actively working on response strategies. Among the many complaints teens have issues concerning body image, gender identity, loneliness, and homelessness.

“Hopefully we can focus more of our attention on gender identity and homeless issues that relate to stress in school,” Manzolillo said.

Homeless youth, starting from 12 years old, are suffering from massive amounts of stress. According to Regina Bertholdo, the District Liaison for Homeless Children, “close to one quarter of these children live in poverty. These statistics are brutal.”

Statistics taken from a recent health survey help community agencies and parents understand the challenges kids are facing.

For example, in a 2009-2010 Youth Risk Behavior Survey 26.9 percent of high school students in Somerville felt hopeless or sad for two weeks or more.

In middle schools across Somerville, 34.1 percent of students worried about their weight.

Teen Empowerment, CASPAR and the Healy School Boys and Girls club had representatives present at the community conversation.

“We created an atmosphere where a couple of people could open up and share their stories. When they opened up we had resources there for them,” said Cory Mashburn, the Director of Prevention at Somerville’s Health Department.

There will be a community conversation on youth body image on Thursday, On December 1.