BeWellATL hosted its first Community Resiliency Roundtable on October 17. The Roundtable is a collaboration with a group of community partners that will offer a range of mental health resources for teens and young adults ages 12-26.
“We’re excited to have our partners on the same page, aligned, working together with the common goal of supporting teen mental health in the Jewish community,” said Rebecca Brown, LCSW, BeWellATL Program Manager. “After working with teens and seeing the challenges they’re up against, and reflecting on my own teen years, I deeply feel the importance in supporting teen mental health,” she said. “We want to change the narrative.”
The Roundtable will work collectively to provide opportunities, network, build partnerships, implement best practices, and collaborate with organizations and providers of mental health social services. The group includes representation from Chris180, Kate’s Club, the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, the Zalik Foundation, Jumpspark, CTeen, HAMSA, the Peaceful Family Fund, Blue Dove, the Atlanta Jews of Color Council, and private clinicians. Collaborators were chosen for the programming they offer for teens and young adults, and the door is open to add more in the future.
The inaugural meeting was “a success,” said JF&CS Community Outreach Coordinator Jessica Sacks, who facilitates BeWellATL with Rebecca. “We had a fantastic turnout, and was truly an honor to sit amongst this group of people who are collectively providing a tremendous amount of impressive programming to the community,” she said. “It is vital for us to continue to support the mental health of our community, and everyone at the roundtable is committed to this cause 100%!”
What is BeWellATL?
Led by Jewish values, JF&CS is the convener of BeWellATL, a program under the national mental health initiative, BeWell. BeWell supports the mental health of teens and young adults with the goal to destigmatize mental health, raise awareness, educate, and create a comprehensive list of community resources to guide and support mental wellness. Rebecca sees it as “prevention programming.”
“Teens and young adults need more support, and we want to provide that,” said Rebecca. “Our (American) cultural approach to health is reactive, and we believe in proactive care.”
What’s Next for BeWellATL?
The BeWellATL Community Resiliency Roundtable will continue meeting quarterly to establish connections and create more opportunities for collaboration amongst provider organizations in Atlanta.
BeWellATL will also host a community-wide event on April 12. The Mental Health Shabbat will be hosted by Jewish organizations and synagogues in Metro Atlanta in multiple locations, using programming created by BeWellATL Teen Resiliency Roundtable. The Shabbat will facilitate intimate conversations that will work toward the goal of destigmatizing mental health, and more information is forthcoming.