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In 2021 three young Transylvanians died by suicide. During the past two years several local students have been working through Voice of the Students, an initiative designed for students to remember their peers, to help spread mental health resources and to build support systems within their schools and the community.
As part of the initiative the Davidson River School students’ Safe Spaces Community Cookout was recently held at the Railroad Depot in Brevard. Students, their families and friends gathered for a sunny afternoon of grilled food, resource tables, stress-relieving activities and fun being together.
Student organizer Allison Hall, 16, of Brevard welcomed the few dozen attendees.
“Our goal today is to make sure you know that you are valued and you have a voice and you can see your worth,” she said. “We don’t want any of you to feel like you’re alone – to when you feel like there’s only the chance that you take your own life.”
“We at Davidson River School feel like we should come together as one and rebuild our community to restore our emotional well-being and unite ourselves,” she said. “We want to make a difference in the community and that is going to start with us.”
The cookout was funded by an anonymous donor who contributed $5,000 toward a student-created and student-run program. Voice of the Students is a community collaboration lead by three organizations: TC Strong, Care Coalition and Spark Point.
Last spring student groups developed programs to address mental health needs.
A panel of judges ranked the programs for feasibility and logistics.
The wining project got funding.
“We would like to honor the people who have lost their lives due to suicide,” said Hall before conducting a moment of silence.
“We would also like to honor the people who are struggling but trying their best,” she said. “Whether it’s for themselves or for others, they are fighting hard and we thank them for giving themselves a second chance. There are so many people in our community struggling right now, either physically or financially. That’s why we have come together today so that you can see that you’re not alone in this community — you have a voice.”
The resource tables included free winter clothes, jackets, scarves and hats.
Group yoga and a nature walk were offered.
A booth included sledge hammers to destroy dishes and old laptops to release anger and frustration. Free journals, note pads and coloring sheets, and resource guides with contact information were also provided.
Two other students, sisters Alaina and Chloe Curro, 15, of Brevard, helped develop and run the event.
“Our initial plan was to build this safe space for people who don’t have a safe space,” said Chloe. “If your home life wasn’t peaceful, if your home life wasn’t secure, safe.”
“Our main focus was abuse,” said Alaina. “We were talking about drug abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse. A lot of people have drug issues. A lot of people have parents that don’t really care about them a lot, and it’s really sad.”
“We wanted a space that was drug-free. We wanted adults there to supervise,” she said. “And then we combined the cookout and the safe space to have this.”
Hall said she knows of students at her school who have attempted suicide.
“It’s tough whenever you’re seeing people who have struggled because most people try and cover it up that they’re not struggling,” Hall said. “That’s kind of like how I was with my mental health. You couldn’t necessarily tell until I started breaking down.”
There are Voice of the Students chapters at each county high school and middle school in addition to Mountain Sun Community School and the after-school program Rise and Shine.
“This whole event is for awareness and destigmatization making talking about mental health and connecting with support and each other more normal,” said TC Strong Director Beth Ford.
“We want to hear what (youth) have to say about their and their friends’ mental health and well-being and we kind of let them drive the bus,” she said. “We want to give them as much opportunity to lead and to have a big vision. There are so many kids in our community that resources for their own families are a struggle. So really putting emphasis on that — their community believes that they can make a difference too.”
PEER ADVICE
Alaina encouraged those struggling with mental health issues to join their group and to reach out to TC Strong.
“Don’t look at how your life will be in the future whenever you’re surrounding yourself around the people who you think care about you, but show you that they don’t,” Hall said. “Just think about whenever you get older, you will surround yourself with amazing people, like I did.”
Chloe said “don’t give up because this storm will pass.”
“It’s not going to be a forever thing. I, as a person who struggled and still struggles with mental health, I understand,” she said. “Sometimes I’m convinced that it’ll last forever and it’ll never stop, but it won’t. It’ll get better. You will get better, and you’re loved, and you’re strong, and you got this.”
For more information, visit the TC Strong website at wearetcstrong.org and find it on Facebook and Instagram.
The suicide and crisis hotline can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by dialing 988.
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Laura Denon can be reached by calling (828) 862-5749 or emailing [email protected].
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