ST. LOUIS — Young people can feel sad and worried about school, family, fights with friends, and all sorts of other things. If the feelings linger, they may have depression or thoughts of suicide.
CHADS Coalition for Mental Health is mentoring young people through those tough times and teaching them how to navigate mental health challenges to create more positive outcomes.
Leisa Jenkins loves to spend time with her son, Grady, in the garden during summertime. The 11-year-old experienced depression after experiencing a rough time at school.
“Just a couple of kids been like, talking stuff about me,” said Grady.
He says they made a lot of comments to him, including cursing at him. Other kids picked on him physically, too.
“Some of it definitely is bullying. He's definitely dealing with some of that. But some of it's kids being kids and just learning how to respond back,” said Leisa.
Lesia is a life and business coach. She knew her son needed help.
“I want to be able to handle it right, which makes the program even more of an asset. Because even though I'm in the field and I do what I do, I still can't help my son. I still have to have outside resources,” said Leisa.
That’s where CHADS Coalition for Mental Health comes in. Larry and Marion McCord founded the group after losing their 18-year-old son Chad to suicide. He suffered from depression before taking his own life.
"He was the individual that was an academic success and athlete, Eagle Scout. And he struggled with mental health issues. And he wanted to be able to stand up in front of a school and say, ‘Hey, I have a mental health issue and I need help,’” said CHADS CEO Tom Duff.
The Coalition provides young people with counselors, who teach them how to navigate life’s challenges.
“Like how she I'm able to and I'm happy that she actually listens and I'm able to actually talk to her without her saying like, well, this and that you follow on like that. She, she listens and then gives me advice,” said Grady.
“A lot of what these kids need nowadays is role play. You know, if a kid is calling me fat, how do I handle that? What do I do with that? So when they come in and they listen and they hear him and they give him those suggestions, I think it really helps him be a little bit more confident in how he handles it,” said Leisa.
“Everyone has a different set of coping skills; everybody has different issues. And so, when you develop that relationship first based on trust, openness, honesty, then all of a sudden you get to realize, you know who that person is. And when they open up, then you build that roadmap to success for that individual is it,” said Duff.
“That's what this program's done for him, is teaching him how to sit back, pause, think about it, and figure out what the next steps are,” said Lesia.
These are the skills Grady will carry with him throughout his life.
“Grady is taught that storms aren't going to stop,” said Lesia. “We all deal with it even as adults.”
CHADS Coalition awarded $10,000 grant
5 On Your Side’s Project 5 is committed to standing up for St. Louis by advocating and supporting our community. This year, 5 On Your Side received $40,000 in grant money courtesy of the TEGNA Foundation, the charitable foundation sponsored by TEGNA Inc.
The grant money will be distributed to St. Louis-area non-profits in two rounds. CHADS Coalition is one of two organizations to receive a $10,000 grant in the first round, which was announced in late May. The other organization to receive a grant is Dream Builders 4 Equity.
CHADS Coalition was granted the money to fund school outreach programs designed as prevention and intervention tools addressing suicide prevention education, social-emotional skills training, and counseling.
“It’s going to allow us to continue to advance our mission of prevention of suicide and provide education to young kids and young people because it’s something that does not need to happen,” said Tom Duff, CEO of CHADS.
Duff was on hand to receive the grant, along with Development Director Nolan Brunnworth and Chief Program Officer Colleen Pace.
The second round of grant funding is expected to be announced in September.