Closing the Mental Health Gap

Thank you for attending!

On May 4, 2021, we hosted our first-ever thought leadership panel where we discussed mental health and how the current pandemic has impacted our youth. At Friends of the Children–Seattle, our professional mentors, and program leadership have identified that youth mental health and social and emotional development are a major priority in our work. Many of the youth in our program are feeling disconnected from school and friends while also coping with the uncertainty looming in the future.

We know that there is hope for our youth. We heard from our panelists that we have to continue to show up and listen when our youth come to us for support. We have to validate their feelings and thoughts. We cannot stop giving them resources and tools to thrive in this new normal. And we have to care for ourselves.

We encourage you to share the recording with your networks and community. Together, we can achieve more.

We want to thank our wonderful panelists:

Sophia Moreno, Program Lead and K-5 Professional Mentor, Friends of the Children-Seattle

Jenn Nguyen-So, Trauma-Informed Care Program Manager, Department of Children, Youth & Families

Ray Soriano, MSW, Social Worker, Therapeutic Program Facilitator

Janis Whitlock, Ph.D., M.P.H., Senior Director for Knowledge and Advising, JED Foundation

and our moderator:

Pamila Gant, Youth Development Consultant