One out of five youth will experience a mental health challenge, like anxiety or depression.
Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14, and 75 percent emerge by age 24, according to research. While many adolescents struggle quietly, many are learning to be active advocates for themselves and each other’s mental health.
Recently, the Rye Youth Council (RYC) hosted an all-day Peer to Peer (P2P) student conference about anxiety, depression, and depressive illness, which was attended by 50 Rye High School, 24 Rye Middle School, and 20 Edgemont Junior-Senior High School students. Participants discussed signs and symptoms of mental health challenges, how to talk to a friend they’re concerned about, and how best to connect a peer with mental health resources available in their schools and community.
“The work we do in Peer to Peer helps others understand the importance of self-advocating and help-seeking when they are suffering from the symptoms of depression and anxiety, and I want to be a part of the reason why people in this school do not struggle in silence,” said Anisa Machano, a junior and Rye High School P2P member.
In 2021, The RYC introduced the Peer to Peer program, an evidence-based depression awareness and suicide prevention program developed by the University of Michigan Eisenberg Family Depression Center. RYC staff were trained through UMich and are now qualified to implement and manage the program in local schools. The program centers on the notion that teens can play a critical role in recognizing when peers are struggling with the mental health issues that emerge in adolescence and can encourage them to get help. RYC funds and supports this student-led initiative in collaboration with Rye’s high school and middle school.
“Mental health is something many students struggle to talk about,” said P2P member Ava Luskey, also a junior. “Being part of Peer to Peer gives me a space to help break the stigma and remind others they are not alone.”
At both RHS and RMS, P2P student members have launched in-school campaigns to reduce stigma, raise awareness, and guide their peers toward help-seeking when needed. Students are committed to this program, which is run like a club at both schools. RHS executive board members meet weekly and the full roster of 50 RHS teens and 24 RMS students meet with their faculty mentors biweekly to create and run their campaigns.
“Peer to Peer has helped me grow personally — teaching me how to listen with empathy and recognize the importance of caring for our own mental well-being as much as we care for others,” Luskey said.
RHS is the first school in New York State to implement this P2P program. The RYC now helps support P2P clubs at RHS, RMS, and Edgemont Junior-Senior High School, and hopes to expand to more local schools. “It’s a highly impactful program that empowers young people to advocate for themselves and their friends — the students never cease to inspire and amaze us,” said Jaime Stabile, RHS P2P faculty mentor.
Lisa Dominici is executive director of The Rye Youth Council, an organization that specializes in the social and emotional health of young people in Rye.
