Peer Mentor Tyrese is a recent graduate of our training at YouthQuake in Lowell this August. Despite his recent start, Tyrese has already become a huge staple of The NAN Project team. He dove head-first into our presentations, already making changes and impacting students in various local communities by sharing his inspiring story. We sat down with Tyrese to ask him about his perspectives on mental health and his experience thus far working with us.

What made you want to work with the NAN Project?

I wanted to work with the NAN Project because I saw a flyer at my local drop-in center and I thought that the work the NAN Project does looked amazing. I really wanted to make a positive impact on the lives of children who lived in Massachusetts by working with the NAN Project. I felt like I could prevent kids from going down the wrong path in life by sharing my story and spreading awareness of mental health disorders. I knew that I had a chance of saving a life in the process too. Also, I needed a job that I wanted to do instead of a job that I had to do.

Can you tell me about how your cultural background connects to your mental health?

I come from a Jamaican household and my parents didn’t really believe in mental health disorders. My parents would always tell me that therapy was for spoiled kids and that if I was living in Jamaica I would have worse problems to worry about. Mental health disorders were ignored in my family and suicide was considered a weak act of selfishness.

Did you ever imagine yourself working in the field of mental health?

I never imagined myself working in the field of mental health because as a kid I was taught to not trust mental health workers. I honestly don’t know if I feared or hated mental health workers. My mom would always tell me that I shouldn’t talk to mental health workers because they just wanted to get her in trouble and take me away from home. I would always push them away and get angry when mental health workers talked to me.

Have you had any student questions or comments that especially stuck out to you?

One question from a student that really stuck out to me was “How long did it take for you to get help and turn around your life?”. The reason why this question sticks out to me so much is because it shows me that students want to know if turning your life around is a long process and I love letting them know that it doesn’t have to be. That question shows me that for some students the process of turning your life around may look hard and take forever to do but that’s really not true at all. Turning my life around took longer for me because I was too afraid to ask for help. Asking for help is a big game-changer!

How does it feel going back to communities you grew up in and presenting there with The NAN Project?

Going back to the communities that I grew up in and doing presentations there feels really rewarding and impactful. I feel like I can relate to those kids a little more and they listen very attentively when I speak to them. It can also feel like I’m looking in a mirror sometimes and seeing myself at a younger age. I feel like it gives them more hope when they see someone who lived in their community turn their life around and live happily as well.

How do you think hearing a NAN Project presentation would have affected you as a kid?

Hearing a NAN Project presentation affected me in so many ways. I definitely would’ve not felt so alone in my tough situation and it would’ve encouraged me to reach out for help. Trying to carry all the weight of my problems on my own slowed me down a lot in life while I was trying to reach my goals. If I had heard a presentation from the NAN Project I would’ve found hope in my dark situation.

What advice would you give to yourself as a younger kid?

Four big pieces of advice that I would give myself as a kid would be to face your fears and problems head on no matter what, try your best not to deal with your problems alone, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and no matter how bad your situation gets things will get better over time but your have to get through the dark times first. All of those things would’ve been so reassuring to hear. If someone would’ve told me that I’m sure that would’ve motivated me and changed my outlook on life.

Can you tell me what inspires you the most?

What inspires me the most is when I see someone who was in my situation or worse make it out of their bad situation and become successful in life. Being successful and relatable is such a big game changer for me because it makes success seem so much more possible. If I can’t relate to someone it makes it a little harder for me to listen to what they have to say.

What are your plans for the future?

My plan for my future is to achieve generational wealth, passive income, and residual income. Hopefully, towards the end of my life, I can have enough profitable businesses and nonprofit businesses to really have financial freedom. I would pass all my businesses down to my kids so they can help even more people. I really hope that all of these things will put me in a position to help massive amounts of people financially and emotionally. I also plan to move to a quiet place and have two more kids who I can teach to impact the world in a really positive way too. Wish me luck!