Blueprint of Our Future expands students' mental health toolkit

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - The COVID-19 pandemic left many young people struggling with depression, anxiety and loneliness, issues they still deal with today. A day-long learning event at Jackson Heights sought to give students in grades 7-12 more tools to improve their mental health and break down the stigma surrounding it.

The Blueprint of Our Tomorrow seeks to prepare today’s youth to grapple with tomorrow’s mental health challenges.

“The sooner we dive into this conversation, the more comfortable it becomes for people,” says Nicole Baum, foundation director for Holton Community Hospital.

Various workshops encouraged students to have open, honest conversations about mental health topics.

“I know that everyone struggles in different ways,” says Dawson Cochren, senior at Jackson Heights High School. “Everyone’s mental health is different and everyone needs different coping mechanisms, so getting to learn what your coping mechanism is can be helpful.”

Each workshop focused on something different, from stress management to safe driving.

“For me, I’m a junior this year, and it’s just been like very stressful, like, trying to figure out classes in college,” says Taylor Bosley, junior at Jacks Heights High School. And then obviously, like depression, I feel like it doesn’t get talked about as much.”

Cochren says many of these conversations go unaddressed.

“They talked about a lot of topics that I think a lot of people struggle with that you don’t get to talk about every day,” she says.

“It’s just like kind of an awkward thing that shouldn’t be awkward,” Bosley says. “So I feel like it’s definitely helpful to figure out different ways to cope with things.”

Professionals from a range of industries shared their insights with students.

“We’ve got nurses, social workers, teachers, professors from Washburn,” says Baum. “We’ve got a very wide variety of professionals here, which is only beneficial for our students because they’re getting so many different perspectives from careers.”

Baum started the Blueprint of Our Tomorrow after recognizing a need among students.

“Students were coming to me saying, you know, I have a lot of friends asking for help. And I just don’t know what to do with the information that I’m being given,” she explains. “So that is what inspired today which we call the Blueprint of Our Tomorrow.”

“We’re the architects of our lives, you know, we’re going to be handed a series of challenges, but it’s how we overcome those,” Baum adds.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, consider visiting our Hear Me Mee Me page for a list of resources.