Let’s Chalk About It in Framingham
Last week, we held the first event in our latest mental health community engagement series, “Let’s Chalk About It.” We rallied a group of participants to work together and craft some beautiful messages using chalk at Cushing Memorial Park in Framingham. Check out some of the awesome art we created together! 
Peer Mentor Appreciation Day
Last Friday, we held our annual Peer Mentor Appreciation Day at Salem Willows 
We love having the opportunity to celebrate our Peer Mentors and all of the amazing work they do, from telling their Comeback Stories in schools to a plethora of self-motivated side projects. The NAN Project wouldn’t be possible without our Peer Mentors!! Thank you all
Peer Mentor Graduation at Massasoit Community College
We held a graduation for our newest Peer Mentors Chloe and Ahri this week at Massasoit Community College 
! They were able to complete an intensive four-day training that included writing their own inspiring comeback stories regarding their mental health journeys. Everyone send a big congratulations to the newest members of Team NAN!
Kylee’s Reflection: A Year as a Peer Mentor
by Kylee Harris
The NAN Project has brought me an abundance of self-confidence and pride in my identity. Sharing my story with others has helped me embrace my past and look forward to my future. When I was 16, I never thought I was going to make it to 18. When I turned 18, I never saw myself making it to 21. But, here I am, I made it. Never would I have thought I would be working for this amazing nonprofit that encourages me to be myself and provides me with a community where I feel safe. This past year, I’ve been able to educate youth all over MA about mental health and the importance of ending the stigma around mental health. I’ve learned that mental health is universal.
`Everywhere in the world, people struggle with mental health, and it’s not talked about enough. The amount of youth that I have talked to that say “My family doesn’t believe in mental health”, or “I didn’t know anyone else felt this way”, has pushed me to continue my work sharing my story. One of my favorite moments from this past year has been when a student listened to my story and then approached me after saying he had no idea that so many people struggled with ADHD and that he as well was diagnosed and felt so different from everyone
else. I was 8 years old when I started showing signs of anxiety, and I genuinely felt for almost 10 years that I was the only person feeling this way. I struggled with my gender identity for years, also thinking I was the only one.
Hearing students tell me they can identify themselves with my story really pushes me to keep sharing. I never thought my story would be a tool for youth to use to find comfort and safety. Working for The NAN Project as a Peer Mentor has been so meaningful to me because when I was younger, mental health wasn’t talked about at school. The LGBTQ community wasn’t talked about. Telling my story helps me feel at peace knowing that I am providing the example I wish I had for my younger self. I want other kids who are struggling with their gender or mental health to be able to identify me as someone they can look up to. I wish I could tell my younger self I didn’t need to fit into the binary and that I didn’t need to hide how much I was struggling mentally. It wasn’t until my 20s that I found other trans nonbinary people like me. I now have so much comfort and peace knowing I am safe among others like me, and that’s what The Nan Project brings me; peace and safety. My work for The Nan Project is a promise to myself and others that no one ever feels alone.
The NAN Project Hosts its First Youth Mental Health Summit
Empowering Youth Voices Summit
We are feeling especially grateful this morning and would like to send another huge thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Empowering Youth Voices Summit last Friday! We couldn’t have done it without all of your incredible support and encouragement We are excited to share that our event made the front page of The Salem News! You can read the full article here:
Samaritans Hope Breakfast
Today, NAN Team Members Sarojini and Liza had the opportunity to attend the #BreakfastForHope with Samaritans! We are grateful for our continued partnership with this organization, which is celebrating 50 years of hope in human connection! Sarojini and Liza raved about how hearing so many lived experience stories helped kick off the day strong, especially considering how TNP shares in the same work and messages!
Empowering Youth Voices Summit
On Friday, May 3rd, The Nan Project hosted our first summit, “Empowering Youth Voices.” At this event, we had over 150 students attend workshops throughout the day, all based on mental health and breaking the stigma around it. Teachers and faculty from each school had the opportunity to attend workshops focused on discussing strategies to better help students, and create a safe environment to talk about mental health in the public school system.
During the summit, one of our Peer Mentors, Kylee, went around and interviewed some students, asking the questions: “What does being here today mean for you?” and “Why is spreading awareness on mental health important?” Here are some of the highlights from the high schoolers that attended:
Coco from Swampscott High School: “Today is about learning how to help other people.”
Abby from Swampscott High School: “ To me today is about educating the school system on how to better help their students.”
Mama from Everett High School: “Mental health is important because it’s the state of our well being both mentally and emotionally.”
Endurance from Revere High School: “Mental health is an overwhelming topic, so today is about hearing the students voices.”
Natalie from Danvers High School: “Mental health issues are present in a lot of schools but no one wants to talk about it.”
Sammy from Danvers High School: “It’s rewarding to share and teach others.”
Gabi from Reading High School “It’s a learning opportunity for all of us to learn to articulate our feelings.”
Lucas from Swampscott High School: “Today is about learning how to help friends”
Jackson from Swampscott High School: “We are learning to engage and communicate and address a situation on the spot. It’s good to know how to help.”
Lyla from Chelmsford High School: “We are building a community with vulnerability and taking away the stigma. Today is a day of no judgment.”
After speaking with the students, it’s clear how important conversations about these topics are. We hope that the practice of asking questions and sharing our lived experiences is helping to build a community where stigma is nonexistent for these bright young adults.
Empowering Youth Voices 2024
On May 3rd, we held our first youth mental health summit, Empowering Youth Voices, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Health. The event was a massive success and was attended by well over 100 students from nearly 20 different schools in Massachusetts. Throughout the day, students had the chance to attend panels, listen to powerful speakers, and partake in collaboration opportunities. All of these activities were centered around mental health and focused on bolstering leadership within their communities! 
MassDMH Suicide Prevention Conference
Over the last two days, our team attended the Annual Massachusetts Department of Public Health Suicide Prevention Conference to represent The NAN Project and spread the word about the wonderful work we do! It was an amazing experience to connect with and learn from our fellow peers in the mental health world who are doing similar work! We also got to hold a presentation explaining the power of our peer-to-peer model and highlighting our collaboration with Sharing Kindness
