Some of the 150 participants in the “We Got Us: Youth Healing in Action Community Day,” which addressed the youth mental health crisis.
EAST ORANGE — About 150 East Orange teens participated in “We Got Us: Youth Healing in Action Community Day,” which addressed the youth mental health crisis.
“It was a fabulous day and a wonderful event,” said Dr. Jamila T. Davis, co-founder of the Institute Of Research For Social Justice And Action.
The event, which was held Tuesday, July 29, at Rowley Park, was hosted by the Summer Work Experience Program of East Orange and supported by the YMCA and Partners Uplifting Our Daughters and Sons. It showcased how students are turning their own experiences into solutions through research, policy advocacy, and trauma-informed mentorship, according to a press release from the organization.
A 2023 East Orange student-led mental health survey, conducted with the East Orange Health Department and Seton Hall University, found that 17% of teens reported serious thoughts of suicide in the past month and 18% said they had attempted suicide at least once.
Nationally, only 52% of teens feel comfortable talking to parents about mental health, compared to 48% who turn to friends (Pew Research Center) — underscoring why peer-to-peer models are critical, the release said.
What began as informal peer-support circles during the pandemic was formalized this summer into We Got Us—a trauma-informed, culturally responsive mental health curriculum written by teens for teens.
Created in partnership with Davis, former community practitioner in residence at Seton Hall University, and Dr. Juan Rios, chair of Seton Hall’s Department of Social Work, the model trains young people to mentor peers, collect data, and advocate for change.
“When young people are equipped with the tools to heal themselves, they will transform their communities,” said Rios, who helped students translate their lived experiences into the We Got Us guide.
Students presented updated mental health data, shared policy briefs on trauma-informed school discipline, offered free haircuts and self-care kits to boost younger students’ confidence, and premiered a mini-documentary to reduce stigma and elevate youth voices. Culinary students in the program took care of all the food at the event, graphic designs students made the T-shirts worn at the event and event planning students set up the venue for the day.
“They took the skills they learned and put them to use in the community,” Davis said. “Overall it was a meaningful day. They showed how mentorship, which is part of mental health – having someone to lean on and support you – is so important.”
The Institute of Research and Social Justice in Action, a national organization focused on advancing community-driven solutions to public safety, education, and economic mobility, is helping scale the We Got Us model to other cities. Its work centers on replacing punitive, adult-driven systems with trauma-informed approaches led by the people most impacted.
Backers of the program include the VIP School Empowerment Coalition, an umbrella group that includes Partners Uplifting Our Daughters and Sons and Voices International Publications, which also provided books on financial literacy and other topics for the entrepreneurial programs in the Summer Work Experience Program.
Davis said mental health issues have always been there but they were exacerbated for young people by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to isolation. Part of what they are doing is teaching youth how to cope with mental health issues, understand what they are feeling and how to get help.
“It’s exacerbated because of the times we are in,” Davis said. “The awareness makes people know it’s OK to have problems but seek help.”
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