WE GOT IT!
Happy Friday friends of The NAN Project!
I hope you all have exciting plans for the weekend! It’s supposed to be beautiful, and it’s a great time to go to the beach, take a stroll through nature, or to explore a place you’ve never been before! Engage in any activities that bring you joy, because self-care is extremely important!
I joined the NAN Project about a month ago, and would just like to express how much of a blessing it has been interning with this exceptional organization. I have made so many beautiful friendships, and everyone has welcomed me with love, warmth, and open arms. Thank you all for being the kindest of souls!
So now, it’s time for some exciting news! Drumroll please…
Sure of you may have heard through our Facebook page, but if you haven’t, The NAN Project is ecstatic to announce having been named one of 100 local nonprofits to receive a grant of $100,00 through Cummings Foundation’s “100K for 100” program. ! We are so excited to have been selected from out of 400+ organizations for this grant. With this grant, The NAN Project will be able to continue to establish our school based, peer-to-peer model that provides mental health awareness and suicide prevention programming to additional high schools throughout Massachusetts.
“Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people, with the rate rising every year, and nearly one out of four teens struggle with depression during their high school years. The numbers associated with mental illness and suicide are staggering, and we need to talk about these difficult topics with our children,” states Ellen Dalton. “Mental illness is treatable and suicide is preventable if we raise the conversation above a whisper – this is what The NAN Project provides, a safe place for the community to discuss mental health concerns and learn how to access the available supports.”
The $100K for 100 program supports nonprofits that are not only based in, but also primarily serve Middlesex. Essex and Suffolk counties. This year, the program is benefitting 35 different cities and towns within the Commonwealth.
Through this initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages more than 10 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
Enjoy your weekends, everyone!
See you next week!
Your fellow Nanner,
Heather Rotman
13 Reasons Why…. We Need To Talk About Suicide
Hey Friends!
We’re glad to see you back! Welcome!
As promised, we have new, exciting and upcoming information to share with all of you!
Drumroll please….
I’m sure many of you have seen the Netflix series, or read the book, ’13 Reasons Why’. There is a lot of debate and controversy over the show. While some feel that the show raises awareness and opens up the conversation around suicide, many viewers have found the show to be triggering and/or misleading, and presented in a way that glamorizes suicide. Whatever your beliefs or thoughts about the show, we have decided to respond in a way that provides a more realistic picture of the experiences high schoolers go through, and educates viewers on what supports are available within their schools and communities. Thanks to help from the Department on Mental Health, we are now in the process of creating that response – ‘13 Reasons Why We Need To Talk About Suicide’ – which will address the realities that teens struggle with. This video will star none other than yours truly, us – the NAN Project Team! We will be covering a range of topics – mental health concerns, sex and relationships, drugs and alcohol, gender identity, sexuality, bullying, body image, peer relationships – that can lead to suicidal ideation.
If you’re interested in getting involved, let us know! We’re looking for team members from The NAN Project to speak about their experiences and struggles, as well as the supports they found in their lives to show others that there is help and there is hope!
We’re so excited and grateful for the opportunity to be working on this video which we hope to have completed by the end of the summer!
Thank you for tuning in NANNers! Come back in a few days to hear about more exciting news about the state of our organization!
Your fellow NANNer,
Heather Rotman
Welcome to the NAN Line!
Hey friends!
If you’re here, that means you’ve taken an interest in The NAN Project, for which we are so grateful! Everyone at The NAN Project is excited to have you guys involved with our organization and interested in learning how together we can reduce the stigma around mental health and help prevent suicide!
This blog will keep you updated around what’s going on in The NAN Project. To begin with, I’d like to talk about what the NAN Project is all about and what we aim to achieve.
The NAN Project is an organization dedicated to reducing suicide by promoting the conversation around mental health and emotional well-being. There is an urgent need to open up this discussion as numbers around suicide are staggering – we lose over 40,000 Americans each year to suicide; it is the second leading cause of death among young people; over 1 million people attempted to end their lives in the United States in 2016.
The NAN Project was founded in 2015 by Ellen Dalton and Jake Cavanaugh with the goal of providing relief and resources to those affected by mental health concerns and/or suicide. It has been a steep learning curve, but after almost two years we have really gotten the ball rolling. We are now provided our services to over a dozen schools across Massachusetts and have many exciting events and projects taking place simultaneously.
The NAN Project is always looking to recruit individuals who have personal experience with mental health issues and who share the same dream of helping others who are struggling! As a NAN Project member, we head in to local schools to share our comeback stories with students, speaking about ways that they too can help themselves find healing and ways to cope amidst their own battles! This opens up the topic and makes talking about mental health concerns something that everyone feels more comfortable doing. To learn more details, check out our website www.thenanproject.org.
Stay tuned for our next blog post where we will be revealing our newest project that we are working really hard to have completed by August! It is our hope that this project will help provide hope to high schoolers who are struggling with depression and/or suicidal thoughts.
Thanks for reading, friends! Come back soon!
Your fellow NANNer,
Heather Rotman
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