STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Six Staten Island mothers are working to support the mental health of area youth by raising awareness of the issue one event at a time.
On Wednesday evening, the devoted moms, who each has a daughter who is a freshman in college, hosted an event titled “Am I OK?” — bringing dozens of community members together with mental health professionals at the Central Family Life Center in Stapleton.
“All of our daughters are in their first year of college. My daughter … we dropped her on campus on Aug. 13. From Aug. 13 to Nov. 11, there were three young women on her campus who committed suicide,” said Tafe. “None of our kids go to school in New York, so whenever there’s an incident, we are all hundreds of miles away from our children.”
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students, according national statistics.
And since all their children are currently home for Christmas break, the six mothers — Cherise Tafe, Melissa Johnson, Slyvia Bryd, Lajuana Archibald, Kathy Lewis and Linda Griggs — decided to band together and create the “Am I OK?” movement to address mental health issues.
The six said they are going to try and host as many events as they can to raise awareness around mental health and at-risk youth.
“We plan on doing this as often as we can — because this is funded by us — so we’re trying to do as many events and bring awareness,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to get kids together and get them involved, so this way they feel like they have a family.”
Five of the six mothers who hosted the “Am I OK?” event are pictured here, from left to right: Melissa Johnson, Sylvia Byrd, Lajuana Archibald, Cherise Tafe and Kathy Lewis. (Priya Shahi/ Staten Island Advance)Priya Shahi
The event began with the audience engaging in an activity led by Tracyavon Ford, a New York State licensed clinical social worker and certified mindfulness teacher, that involved deep breaths, soothing motions and words of affirmation.
One member of the audience, who shared that they lost their child to suicide, said they felt the exercise was a “touching” experience.
After those in attendance were brought together through the mindfulness activity, Dr. Charmaine Z. Dodd and Dr. Paul Archibald, who both specialize in mental health, dove into a discussion about the stigma around the issue.
Some in the audience shared that mental health struggles can be seen as a weakness in Black and Brown communities, and they are often expected to “tough it out.”
“We have to raise awareness (about suicide). It’s not a rarity, and it’s something we can take agency over,” Dodd said.
The mental health experts spoke about understanding depression and how it can present itself in various ways, including substance abuse, headaches, stomach troubles and lack of sleep.
“We have to take charge of our health,“ Archibald emphasized. “Mental health is not negative. We all have a mental health state. I am just trying to get us to be okay with talking about our mental health.”
He demonstrated the difference between mental health and mental illness, and how one can head toward mental illness if they do not check on and take care of their metal health, especially after experiencing mental health struggles or trauma.
Dodd compared the progression toward mental illness to the progression of diabetes.
“Sometimes people are born with diabetes, but sometimes it’s acquired. And there are usually signs along the way that you are creeping in on that direction. You might start to feel a little sleepy after every meal. Certain things you can’t really eat anymore because it doesn’t make you feel too good. It’s not until you get to the point where you can’t function … your body can’t function the way it normally does, that’s when it becomes illness,” she explained.
Byrd spoke about the mission behind the work of “Am I OK?” movement.
“We want to make sure that our young people and people who are struggling with knowing whether or not they are OK — are okay,” she explained. “If we can give them the tools they need to be okay, or someone who they can reach out to for help, then we’ll feel successful.”
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