Hope is All Around

Noticing is a Choice

Jun 12, 2025

There are numerous times a day when I am grateful for my decades of mindfulness practice. Never perfect, I have tools (like breathing, moving and journaling) that are my default as I navigate whatever shows up in my life. I have had some profound experiences because of my access to those tools. My experience at the social studies fair at the Reid Middle School in Pittsfield, MA a few days ago easily ranks in the top 5.

I haven’t been to a social studies fair since I was in 8th grade. Walking into the cafeteria, I was zapped back in time through the unmistakable cacophony of 150 8th grade voices buzzing and bouncing around the space. I was there as a board member of the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention (BCSP), located in western Massachusetts. We were invited to attend after two of the 8th grade teams, as part of their project, wrote letters to the BCSP asking for support in creating in-school mental health programs for any student who wanted to participate.

When those letters were shared at our BCSP board meeting, the joy was palpable. Joy #1, they WROTE letters. Not emails. Letters. Well written, addressed correctly and snail mailed. Joy #2, they were doing a project on mental health and wanted our support to, joy #3, create a program, in school, so that all kids could talk about mental health challenges. Joy #4, they had identified a gap in the mental health system: A successful program exists in the school and is run by a local mental health organization but “kids have to be approved” to participate. These 2 teams wanted to create an additional program to support all kids because there is nothing in place for those who do not qualify for that program.

One more joy—the letters happened to arrive on the heels of our decision to embark on creating a BCSP youth advisory board through our participation in the Garrett Lee Smith grant for youth suicide prevention. Was this all magic? Serendipity? Or something else?

It was definitely something else to walk into that space. A social studies fair focused on 8th graders solving challenges like housing inequity, homelessness, bullying, food scarcity, pollution, and yes, mental health. If this had been an adult-created event, at this moment in U.S. history, I imagine the feeling in the room might have been pretty somber. It was the opposite. Joyful, vibrant, positive. It was a science fair full of hope.

Ten teams chose to focus on mental health—everything from teen suicide prevention and mental health for men, to self-harm and mental health for athletes. Along with BCSP president, Brian Berkel, I listened intently. Asked questions. Not one student faltered. Several students were suicide loss survivors. Too many had first-hand experience with mental health issues among family members and friends. Some shared candidly about their own mental health challenges. No shame. No hesitation. So much ease and confidence. It was a privilege to experience just how far we have come in talking about mental health. It seemed as natural for these kids to talk about as asking ‘what’s for dinner?’

I talked to other teams about their projects as well and their spirit was the same. Not one student expressed anxiety, defeat or overwhelm at the tables of challenges addressed in the room. Especially amidst our current political climate that seems to have sent us back a couple hundred years. There was a powerful Truth circulating instead—we CAN solve problems. Today. Now. With inclusive, thoughtful, passionate teamwork, research, organization, outreach, and action. (And maybe a few postage stamps.)

All around the room were proud parents, dedicated teachers and students who care about the world and each other in it. Again, I was so struck by how far we have come, even since my own son was in 8th grade ten years ago. Never mind my middle school years when the words mental health didn’t exist. These kids have so much ahead of them in every way. They are asking for our support as they create solutions to challenges they didn’t ask for. How can you help?

This event was open to the public and I wish more of the public had been there. If you have a chance to go to one near you, just show up. That’s where help begins. You can learn so much from our youngest citizens. And I promise, you will leave with so much more than you imagined—including an armload of hope.

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. These kids have turned hope into an action plan. They offered solutions to problems that can be accomplished. It’s a powerful boost personally and to my mission to help kids self-manage mental and physical wellbeing, to know without a doubt, that the reality of mental wellness for kids and teens is quite literally on the table.

With gratitude for these inspiring students in the Berkshire community, Elizabeth