THE DECLINE IN YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH HAS BEEN LABELED AS THE CRISIS OF OUR TIME BY THE U.S.

SURGEON GENERAL, AND IF YOU WATCH THIS SHOW, YOU KNOW THAT FOR MENTAL HEALTH, THERE IS NO QUICK FIX.

WHETHER IT'S THE PANDEMIC, MASS SHOOTINGS OR CLIMATE CHANGE, THE COUNTRY'S YOUNGEST GENERATION HAS A LOT ON THEIR MINDS.

RESEARCH SHOWS US THERE ARE WAYS TO HELP.

ONE OF THOSE WAYS IS THROUGH AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS THAT ENGAGE CHILDREN AND LET THEM EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN CREATIVE WAYS.

IN THE CAPITAL REGION, ONE YOUTH ORGANIZATION CALLED YOUTH FX IS DOING JUST THAT, USING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND ART.

PRODUCER CATHERINE RAFFERTY HAS THE STORY.

NESTLED IN THE SOUTH END OF ALBANY, YOUTH FX IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT TEACHES YOUTH HOW TO CREATE FILMS.

THE ORGANIZATION HAS A FOCUS ON TELLING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE OF COLOR FROM COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED AND IN NEED OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING IN DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY.

IT HAS GROWN OVER THE LAST 16 YEARS FROM A SUMMER PROGRAM TO YEAR-ROUND AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING.

JAZLYN GOROUSING, A STUDENT WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE SUMMER PROGRAM LAST YEAR SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOUTH'S STORIES TO BE HEARD.

IT'S A VERY OPEN SPACE.

SO BEING ABLE TO TALK TO PEOPLE WHO DO UNDERSTAND THAT ART IS LIKE A HEALING TOOL.

WE'RE NOT ONLY WHAT THEY THINK OF US.

WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CREATORS, WE'RE ARTISTS.

WE'RE FILMMAKERS.

WE'RE THE NEXT GENERATION.

IT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR STORIES TO BE HOLD BECAUSE OUR VOICES MATTER.

AND WE SHOULD BE IN CHARGE OF OUR FUTURE.

MAKING FILMS AND COMMUNITY CREATES A WELCOMING AND FREE SPACE FOR YOUTH TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES, SAYS COFOUNDER BHAWIN SUCHAK.

I THINK WE UNDERESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOUNG FOLKS SPEND IN THEIR DAY STIFLING WHO THEY REALLY ARE SO THEY HAVE TO KIND OF PUT ON A FACADE OR PERFORM FOR A PARTICULAR KIND OF, YOU KNOW, TEACHER OR CLASS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET GOOD GRADES.

THERE'S ALL THESE PRESSURES AND IT'S LIKE, WHEN DO THEY GET TO LET THEIR SHOULDERS DOWN AND RELAX?

I THINK ART AND ARTISTIC PRACTICES AND FOR ME AT THE CORE OF THAT IS FOR US TO EXPRESS IT.

I THINK FILM IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, AN INCREDIBLY MEDIUM FOR THAT.

SUCHAK ALSO SEES ART MAKING AS A WAY TO PROCESS THROUGH EXPERIENCES THAT ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT.

LIVING IN A COMMUNITY IN A CITY IN SPACES THAT ARE HIGHLY UNDERRESOURCED AND HAVE BEEN SYSTEMICALLY, YOU KNOW, DISADVANTAGED FOR DECADES, CENTURIES, I THINK WHAT WE SEE A LOT OF IS SAFETY ISSUES ACROSS ALL REALMS OF WHAT THAT MEANS, PERSONAL, COMMUNITY, FAMILY, GUN VIOLENCE IS A REALLY BIG ISSUE.

ADDICTION IS A REALLY BIG ISSUE.

THE OTHER THING I DON'T HEAR A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IS THE LACK OF ACCESS TO ARTS AND CULTURE, AND I THINK THAT WHAT THEY DO IN THEIR FILMS AND IN THE WORK THAT THEY'RE MAKING, THEY'RE CREATING IS ADDRESSING SOME OF THOSE THINGS.

WE'RE REALLY ABOUT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FEEL THAT THOSE ARE TOPICS THAT THEY CAN TALK ABOUT.

BECAUSE OFTEN, THEY CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT.

SUCHAK NOTICED THAT THE PANDEMIC HEIGHTENED THE STRESS THAT YOUTH WERE EXPERIENCING AND THE INCLUSIVE SPACE THEIR PROGRAM PROVIDES ALLOWED YOUTH TO OPEN UP ABOUT HOW THEY WERE FEELING.

HE CALLED DR. CAROLINE SHARKEY, VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT NEW ALBANY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FORMER TEACHER AT THE ALBANY FREE SCHOOL TO BE A TRAUMA-INFORMED CONSULTANT FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

SO TRAUMA-INFORMED IS A FRAMEWORK AND IT'S AN IDEA THAT THERE ARE KEY PRINCIPLES THAT CAN OUTLINE THE WAYS THAT ANY SPACE AND ANY PLACE THAT WE INTERACT WITH OTHERS CAN BE RESPONSIVE TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR LIVES, BUT RESPONSIVENESS DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN DIRECT TREATMENT.

WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A SCOPE OF PRACTICE.

I MEAN, THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU ARE GOING TO NEED, A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL FOR.

WHEN WE TALK MENTAL HEALTH, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THE CONSTELLATIONS OF SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT WE CAN ASSIGN A DISORDER TO.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STRESS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRAUMATIC STRESS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY, AND THOSE ARE A PART OF OUR WORLD ALL THE TIME, BUT I THINK COLLECTIVELY IN 2020 AND BEYOND THAT, WE STARTED TO EXPERIENCE IT ACROSS ALL DEMOGRAPHICS AND ALL SOCIOECONOMICS, AND AT THE FRONT OF THAT EXPERIENCE WE HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE SAYING WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

WHILE SHARKEY WAS THERE, SHE WANTED TO CONTINUE HER RESEARCH INTO POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL ENGAGED ART.

SHE DECIDED TO PURSUE HER PH.D. DISSERTATION IN COLLABORATION WITH YOUTH FX.

SO STARTING IN MAY OF 2022, WE BEGAN A RESEARCH PROCESS CALLED YOUTH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH.

SO YOUNG PEOPLE HELPED ME TO DEVELOP THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS FOR WHAT WE WERE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT TO UNDERSTAND AND CHRONICLE HOW DIGITAL STORYTELLING CAN BE A TOOL FOR POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND THE CREATION OF WHAT'S CALLED A SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

WE DID SO USING DOCUMENTARY FILM FOOTAGE.

REALLY, WE CAPTURED PRETTY MUCH EVERY MINUTE OF THE FILM PROGRAM THROUGHOUT ALL SIX WEEKS OF THE PROGRAM, BUT WE ALSO CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS THAT WERE COFACILITATED BY YOUNG PEOPLE AND MYSELF TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE WERE EXPERIENCING AND HOW A PROGRAM LIKE THIS CAN HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT THEY HAVE ABOUT TRAUMATIC STRESS AND TO PREPARE THEM, AGAIN, FOR THAT TRAJECTORY OF POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.

IN CONVERSATION WITH THE STUDENTS, SHARKEY IDENTIFIED THEIR TOP THREE SOURCES OF TRAUMATIC STRESS.

THE FIRST WAS COMMUNITY VIOLENCE.

THE SECOND WAS ECONOMIC INSECURITY, AND THE THIRD WAS ADULTISM.

ADULTISM IS A SOCIAL BIAS TOWARD ADULTS, THE NEEDS, THE INTERESTS, THE VOICES OF ADULTS.

THE MESSAGE THAT ADULTISM SENDS IS YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU DON'T HAVE A PLACE AT THE TABLE.

YOU DON'T HAVE A VOICE YET, AND THAT WAS REALLY DISHEARTENING TO HEAR.

SO WHEN WE TALK MENTAL HEALTH, WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THE NEUROLOGICAL OR THE GENETIC OR THE BIOLOGICAL FACTORS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SOCIAL FACTORS THAT CREATE SO MUCH STRESS THAT WE START TO HAVE TRAUMATIC STRESS RESPONSES AND THAT MIGHT INCLUDE FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE, FEIGN AND IT ALSO INCLUDES ISOLATION AND A SENSE OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND THAT IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMMING, PARTICULARLY ART-BASED EXTRACURRICULARS, HAVE POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT IN ACADEMICS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT.

IN THE STUDY BY NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT YOUTH WHO PARTICIPATED IN ARTS-BASED ACTIVITIES WERE MORE LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE IN OTHER ACTIVITIES, VOTING AND VOLUNTEERING.

THEY ALSO FOUND THAT STUDENTS WHO HAD INTENSIVE ARTS EXPERIENCES IN HIGH SCHOOL WERE THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN STUDENTS WHO LACK THOSE EXPERIENCES TO EARN A BACHELOR'S DEGREE.

SO IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE ADDRESS THIS MASSIVE TSUNAMI OF WORRIES AND RISKS AND PROBLEMS, IT'S ONE SOLUTION BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY SOLUTION, BUT ONE IDEA IS TO BRING IN MORE ARTS-BASED PROGRAMMING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR STORYTELLING, NARRATIVES AND COUNTERNARRATIVES BECAUSE WHO PEOPLE ARE, HOW THEY SEE THE WORLD AND THE EXPERIENCES THEY HAVE, THAT'S DATA.

THAT CAN TEACH US A LOT AND IT'S AN OUTLET.

SUCHAK AND SHARKEY ARE NOW LOOKING TO SHARE WHAT THEY LEARNED WHILE WORKING TOGETHER WITH OTHER AFTERSCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS.

LIKE ALL YOUTH PROGRAMMING OUTSIDE OF SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLS NEED SOCIAL WORKERS, TOO, AND NEED TO HAVE SOCIAL WORKERS ON-SITE.

WE ARE DOING OUR THINGS AS EDUCATORS AS ARTISTS AND WE NEED THAT SUPPORT BY PEOPLE WHO ARE TRAINED WHO HAVE THE ABILITY TO MOVE THROUGH THAT.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE YOUNG FOLKS ARE ALWAYS GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON.

IT'S WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE HEARING IT OR LISTENING TO THEM.

SHARKEY SAYS, ORGANIZATIONS CAN WORK TO CREATE A SAFE SPACE FOR YOUTH BY BEING ACKNOWLEDGING TRAUMA AND ITS IMPACT.

UNDERSTANDING THAT TRAUMA IS REAL, WHAT THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF TRAUMATIC STRESS ARE, AND THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE PATHS FOR HEALING AND RECOVERY.

WE CAN'T ALWAYS GUARANTEE THAT SAFE SPACES ARE GOING TO BE SAFE, BUT WE CAN GUARANTEE RESPECT AND INCLUSION, AND WE CAN BUILD TOWARDS AN ENHANCED SENSE OF SAFETY SO THAT YOUNG PEOPLE OR ANYONE, FOR THAT MATTER, CAN KNOW AND TRUST THAT IS A SPACE THAT THEY CAN BE WHO THEY NEED TO BE.

I WORKED WITH YOUNG PEOPLE FOR THE BETTER PART OF 25 YEARS AND IT IS REALLY HEARTWARMING TO KNOW THAT THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION THAT TRULY INVESTS IN THE NOTION, THE SIMPLE NOTION THAT YOUNG PEOPLE INNATELY HAVE AGENCY.

IT SOUNDS REALLY STRAIGHT FORWARD, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF YOUTH-CENTERED PROGRAMMING DOESN'T REALLY EMBRACE THAT CONCEPT.

FOR SOCIAL WORKERS, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE BRING THIS NOTION AND WE BRING THIS SENSE OF RESILIENCY AND RESISTANCE AND THEN YOUTH-DRIVEN EMPOWERMENT TO THE FOREFRONT SO THAT WE CAN START TO THINK BEYOND RISK FACTORS AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS AND START TO THINK ABOUT THE WAYS THAT WE CAN ENGAGE COMMUNITIES.