Erasing the Stigma, How One Room Is Making A Difference

Today you'll meet Adison Schwartz, an inspiring high school senior erasing the mental health stigma every day!  She is joined by her school staff mentor, Robyn Corelitz, a social emotional learning specialist.  Together, they are making a difference at Deerfield High School.  Adison will take us on an audio tour of the amazing space she created, dedicated to student wellness at her school. She will also introduce us to You Are Enough, the organization she founded when she was only 14. Discover how a student-led project is providing a safe haven for students to decompress, reset, and find support. Tune in to hear about the impact of You Are Enough.

SHOW NOTES
You are Enough Not-For-Profit
JED Foundation
Haley Hoffman Smith, Her Big Idea
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

music credit: Line Up/Pond5
©CATCH 2024

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Transcript

Amy O.: [00:00:00] Today's conversation is inspiring, motivating, and hopeful. We welcomed a high school senior so passionate about our collective mental health that she did something remarkable about it. Also with us is the high school staff member who saw the importance and potential of the idea and now oversees the special place created by the student's organization, You Are Enough. Our

Dr. Lisa: Our guests today are Adison Schwartz, a high school senior and the founder of You Are Enough, and Robyn Corelitz, a social emotional learning specialist and staff liaison for the You Are Enough wellness space at Deerfield High School.

Amy O.: What drives Adison's passion for mental health? How does the wellness space at Deerfield High School help students? What gives Adison and Robyn hope for this generation of students? And what's next? 

Dr. Lisa: So, put in your earbuds, take this 30 minutes for you and find out. Join our conversation with Adison and Robyn. 

Conversation

Amy O.: Welcome in you guys. Why don't we just start out by having you guys, uh, quickly introduce yourselves and then we'll dive right in. 

Adison Schwartz, Founder, You Are Enough, Deerfield High School Recent Graduate: Hi I'm Adison Schwartz, I'm the founder of You are Enough, and I'm a senior at Deerfield High School.

[00:01:30] Robyn Corelitz, Social Emotional Learning Specialist, Deerfield High School: And I'm Robyn Corelitz. I'm the SEL or Social Emotional Learning Specialist at Deerfield High School, and I am lucky enough to be able to oversee the You Are Enough space here at Deerfield.

You Are Enough Wellness Space “Tour”

Amy O.: And we are all lucky enough to be recording this podcast right here in that space, the You Are Enough space. Adison, can you just give us, um, sort of a brief tour of the space, how it came about, what its purpose is. Just try to welcome our audience in over the airway, so to speak.

Adison: Yeah, for sure. So, typically a student would walk into the space and initially they're greeted by a green wall that takes over the entire space. And on the green wall is a huge You Are Enough sign that is just so welcoming and there's a variety of different seating options. So, if somebody wants to be more isolated, there's individual seating with some like cubicle like spots and booths, or there's a couch that is really inviting and comfortable and some spinny chairs or a table where people can sit together and work and collaborate or some high tops. And so there's all these different varieties of seating. And then in the back there's a yoga area where people can use their yoga mats if they need some time to, do some physical,

Amy O.: Relaxation? 

[00:03:00]Adison: Yes, thank you. And also one of the favorite aspects of the space is the dog bed where our emotional support dog comes into the space once a week on Friday afternoons. And so that always draws a bunch of people into the room. And then you'll find art supplies in the space. Lots of fidgets, mints, sour Warheads, just a bunch of different touches to the room that just make this a really welcoming, inviting, mental health, wellness space. 

Dr. Lisa: And it really is. I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked in. I've never seen the space before, but it really is. It's bigger than I envisioned and it's brighter and it is so inviting in here. And I'm sorry to say, ladies, I'm not sure I'm going to leave. I'm going to get the rest of my work done this afternoon right over here.

What students can use the space?

Amy O.: Can any student use this space? Is there criteria for entering? How does that all work in the course of a student's day? 

Adison: Yeah, We're really fortunate that any student can come into this space at basically any time of the day. It's really a tier one space. And so students are meant to come here before going to the counseling center, before they're in crisis. And so, if a student just needs a place to relax, decompress, this is where they're meant to come and just take a few minutes to take some deep breaths, get away from their stress and then go back to class. 

 [00:04:30]Dr. Lisa: How long has the space been open for?

Adison: It opened at the beginning of this school year, so just for one year, and we've already had over 800 unique student visits, which is just remarkable.

Dr. Lisa: Wow, that was going to be my next question. 

Adison: Yeah, it's unbelievable. 

When can students use the space?

Amy O.: Robyn, can a student ask a teacher at any time to depart the classroom and use the You Are Enough space? How does that work?

Robyn: Not quite yet. That would be something that we would work towards in the next couple of years. So right now we're open mostly during the lunch periods and study halls. So the goal is for students to come in during an open time in their schedule. If they're in a class and they're experiencing, you know, something that would be important enough that they would want to go see a counselor. We would want them to go right to the mental health professionals in the building and really bypass the tier one space. So that would be more of a tier two or a tier three intervention. So for tier one, again, those lunch periods and the study halls we're open. So a student can come in during any of those times. And then our goal would be to be able to staff it enough so that we could really be open every period, knowing that a student would have some open time in their schedule during the day to drop in. Like Adison said, the goal is really for a kid to come in here, identify what it is they need in the moment. And then do that thing, whether it be a sensory intervention, breathing, a little bit of artwork. We have all kinds of, um, sort of tactile things kids can do, like ice cubes to hold, lots of nervous system awareness tools to use those interventions briefly and then return to class.

How did this space come to be?

[00:06:00]Dr. Lisa: Can we talk a little bit about how this space came to be? Adison, can you share what that seed that was planted in your head was and then how it came to fruition? 

Adison: So originally, I was trying to get another mental health program into our high school, the JED High School Programming, if you're familiar with them. The JED Foundation is the largest mental health youth organization in the nation. And they do this comprehensive program, it's a three year program where they evaluate the status of the entire community, teachers, students, uh, admin, community members. And unfortunately, there were some difficulties which prevented the program from getting into our school. And so, I pivoted. And when I was on a college campus visit, I actually saw a space similar to this one, which inspired me to do some research on mental health spaces at schools. And I was like, why doesn't Deerfield have a space like this? And I did a bunch of research. I saw Stevenson just opened a space like this. Um, obviously theirs is a very different, much larger scale, but lots of other community schools in our area and across the country have spaces like this and did talk to professionals, talked to students, got lots of input and the idea just really came together and I'm very glad it did.

[00:07:30]Dr. Lisa: It really is incredible. 

Amy O.: I really like that it allows the students a place where they can begin to take care of their own mental health. It's very empowering to walk into this space and A, make the choice to do so, and B, then decide how best to kind of regroup or identify whether they can re-enter the school or need to take steps to get further support. Is that kind of what you envisioned Adison? 

How can students use the space?

Adison: Yeah, for sure. And that was also a concern that we had, or at least on my end, I was a little nervous when we were preparing the space that were people gonna even come here? Because obviously, there's a stigma around seeking mental health support. A space like this is, in a way, a form of seeking support. Would students even come to the space, but we've seen since it's been open that people have actively sought support and that it really hasn't been an issue which is so amazing to see and that people want the support and people need the support.

 [00:09:00]Robyn: What's been really telling, um, as an educator is we have students do a check in when they come in, so they scan a QR code and it brings up a survey. It's a really quick survey, it takes about 30 or 40 seconds to complete, and it asks students to check in in a variety of ways, like something like a mood meter, which is a tool from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence that asks kids to identify their feelings, but then also, what are the sensations in their body? So asking them to dig a little deeper into the nervous system and then asking them, what do you need right now? And giving them a menu of options. Whether that be, I need to move my body, I need to stretch, um, I just need a break, which is what 95% of our students from the data we've collected say they just need a break, just that breath. Or if they need a sensory intervention, something again, like holding those ice cubes or doing some artwork or playing with putty or having a Warhead, right? Something to really reset the nervous system. So, immediately within their first minute of entering the room, they're able to use their really great self awareness. And make some good decisions about what they need in the moment and then do that thing. Or if I'm in the room or other supervisors are here, we can help them, you know, let's get you set up with some art. Let's unroll a yoga mat, whatever it is you need. And then again, it's sort of a quick intervention and they're off again to their class or to their, uh, their study hall or their lunch. So, I love that it gives students the opportunity to really self identify, like, what is it that I could really use right now and take that moment and then move about their day.

[00:10:30] Dr. Lisa: You brought up the piece about stigma and how you were worried about that a little bit before building the space. Is it going to be used? It sounds like it is certainly being used and you know, how great is that? Has there been any stigma around it? Did you have to have hard conversations? Do you feel like there are some students not using it for that reason? 

Adison: Honestly, as far as I can tell, students are using the space.

Robyn: I agree. I think DHS, the mental health professionals, our counselors and social workers and psychs, they do an incredible job of de-stigmatizing anything having to do with mental health in our schools. So, I already feel like it's a place that's very welcoming of any topic having to do with mental health. I think staff are embracing the space more too. I mean, for sure on Fridays when we have our golden retriever, Enzo, here, I see so many staff members that I'm like, "Oh, it's so great to see you." I mean, we need it too. Adults need a place to, to come and just take a beat. Um, even just seeing each other, you know, have a friendly hello, pet a dog, that kind of a thing. It's been a really kind of heartwarming place for some adults to connect. And we were also really intentional this year in having all of our freshman advisory courses come through this room and do some SEL work in here, some breathing work, some, you know, self management strategies, things like that. So, all the freshmen have been introduced to the space just as part of their coursework. They all know where it is and since it's the first year, we'll continue to do that with all of our freshmen next year and every year after that so that it's just another place kids can come and hang out. One thing that's been really great too is having this open during big events like assemblies where some students might need a space to just come and decompress. Um, I would have appreciated,

[00:12:00] Amy O.: Pep rallies and Yes. My daughter could have used this space so much at Glenbrook North. Yes. It would have been her go to for those kinds of gatherings for sure.

Robyn: Yeah So it, I think over time it will, you know, just sort of historically become a place where kids know that they can go if things are just a little too much or too overwhelming or whatever the case is, they can just come here and honestly just kind of do what they need to do. It's great.

What did Adison see in her peers that made her understand this place would be welcomed and needed at Deerfield High School? 

Amy O.: Adison, can I take you back just a little bit to before this space opened at the beginning of your senior year, and I'm sure that the ideas were in your head long before that. What did you see in your friends, in your peers, in fellow students, that made you understand that this place would be welcomed and useful and needed at Deerfield High School? 

[00:13:30] Adison: Like, basically, all my friends struggle with anxiety. I feel like it's such a common thing these days, and what I've really noticed, especially in our school, is that when people get stressed out or upset about something is that people just leave school. People don't have a space at school to go to deal with things, people just leave. Our school knows that there's an issue with chronic absenteeism and leaving school early, coming to school late, missing tests and whatever, but I feel like if there had been a place for my four years, that that might not have been, a place like this, there might not have been such an issue, because rather than fleeing and running from the issue, there could have been a place where people could have gone to help resolve the issue, rather than running from it. 

Dr. Lisa: Just to reset. I mean, sometimes all we need is that moment to reset and then take that breath and realize we can take on that challenge. We can be brave enough to move through that anxiety, but we don't afford ourselves that reset moment often enough. 

Amy O.: Do you think it would be possible to open a You Are Enough space for the parents? Right at the entryway? That would be ideal, right? 

Dr. Lisa: Must walk through this space before entering. 

Adison: Yeah.

Amy O.: Deep breaths now. 

What else is helpful to students to combat their mental health struggles?

Dr. Lisa: Are there other things outside of this space that you've envisioned or implemented or seen others implement that has been helpful in combating the mental health struggles that you're seeing in all of your peers?

Adison: I think emphasizing the importance of teacher support on the side because a lot of teachers will be like, your mental health is so important, but then continue to stack things up or a student will be like, I just need a mental health day, or like, I need to go take a walk, or, I need to go take a reset, I need to go to this space and teachers won't always support that. And so I think just making sure that student and teacher support is really there. That's I would say 

[00:15:00] Robyn: I think too a really solid, we can call it applied educational neuroscience or trauma responsive training, that kind of systemic awareness for all educators and education systems knowing that when students walk into our spaces like there's a sort of responsibility to co-regulate and that, I mean, we've all had teachers, I can think of my kindergarten teacher, Linda Perlman, and she was incredible. And you know, when you walk into a room where an educator sets the tone for, "you're safe in this space," that it's not behavior. We're not looking at behaviors, we're looking at root cause and all of the things that make, you know, educational spaces feel nourishing and like kids can do their best no matter what, even if their best isn't great that day. I think the more kind of focus that we can have in creating spaces like that. And hopefully this space feels that way for kids that walk in here, the better we're all going to be. And I would also say Adison, you know, has continued to really advocate for bigger change. It's not just about one room, right? So she is someone that sees the call to action for taking a look at, you know, not specifically one school system or one district, but on a sort of macro level, like, what is the importance of that balance of mental health, of social emotional skills and awareness and learning? And how can we work together with adults so that kids are really seen, really heard, really able to walk into any space and feel like I can, I can do this.

How did you get the high school to embrace the need for this space?

[00:16:30] Amy O.: Adison, if other high school students listen to this episode of the podcast, how would you advise them to proceed if they wanted to bring something similar to this to their high school? How did it work when you first went to Deerfield High School admin, or maybe it was Robyn, and said I have this idea? Can you just walk us through that a little bit? 

Adison: Yeah, first I actually started with my student council sponsor, because like I just started with an adult in the building, a teacher who I knew really well and he was like so supportive immediately and so definitely recommend going to a supportive adult first, um, and he just gave me all the right connections and everybody, luckily at District 113 and at Deerfield High School was super supportive of the idea and Principal Anderson also was super supportive, which I'm super thankful for because not all principals would be like, yeah, we just have a space waiting for you. Also I think that the school was planning on doing something similar to this before I kind of approached them with this. And then collaboratively we were able to just work together to build such an amazing space. But come with ideas, get a good team of students, get a good team of teachers, administrators and just go for it. Don't be afraid, because the worst thing that could happen is they say no. But that's unlikely if you're trying to create positive change.

Were there any barriers that you face?

[00:18:00] Dr. Lisa: Were there any particular barriers you that you did face from that set point to creation of the space?

Adison: Yeah. I think that the biggest one would probably be staffing. We were originally supposed to have a trauma interventionist staffing the space full time, but unfortunately he wasn't able to staff it because he got moved schools back to Highland Park High School. We were only able to have staffing with Ms. Corelitz, which is still amazing. But, very thankful for her. Obviously, she's only one person, and as much as a space is great to be covered by Ms. Corelitz, we need this space to be covered by somebody full time. It's only open during study halls and lunches. We invested so much time and money to get this space up and running that it should be open full time, it should be open during every school period where students can come in whenever they need, it shouldn't just be open during certain hours. It should have a full time staff member, other spaces in the school have full time staff members, so why doesn't this space?

Amy O.: Adison for president. 

How is the space staffed?

[00:19:30]Dr. Lisa: I'm assuming it always just needs to have a staff member. Is that for the purpose of monitoring and to be there for active supporting of the students or just pure liability?

Robyn: Yes. Yes. And yes, right? Um, yeah. Obviously, we always want students to be in a room with an adult in a high school. And, you know, if we could freedom dream about this a little bit, I mean, we would have two staff members in the room and be open every day, all day and also have a full time therapy dog eight periods a day. But, the purpose of having the adults here is so that when the kids do their check in, we can have that data in real time then we can say like, "Oh, I see that you're feeling like you're at 5% energy level right now and that you really need a mind body intervention. Let's try something like which of these sounds like it could work for you today. So, really to kind of guide them through. Some kids are at the point where they don't really need that adult, you know, guidance in terms of what the next step is for them. They know they can come in here and grab some ice and just sit there and have a little bit of a mini meditation or nervous system reset and then move about their day. But it's still just really nice to have a human interaction with an adult staff member that you know cares about you and wants you to do well and appreciates the fact that you're taking this five minutes or 10 minutes out of your day. So regardless, I think it's really important to have that, you know, face to face personal contact with someone. And especially if we did have a student that indicated that they wanted to go see their counselor. Of course, you know, we need to be right there and make sure that we're alerting someone in that case and, you know, doing our due diligence in that way, making sure everyone's really safe.

Why “You Are Enough?”

[00:21:00]Amy O.: So for the listeners who will not be able to see this space with their eyes, you're greeted when you walk in with a big sign that says, you are enough, which is the name of the foundation that you founded, Adison. What do those words mean to you? And can you tell us a little bit about your foundation and what else you do? Because, well, not because those words to me mean a great deal. So tell us.

Adison: It's a phrase but it means so much more than just a phrase. When you are at your lowest, it can lift you up. It's so empowering because when you hear it, it just automatically increases your self worth. So many times people will walk through their day and just not feel worthy. When you hear "you are enough," it just, I feel like automatically increases your mood. It makes you feel valuable. It makes you feel wanted. My friends joke around with me and they're like, "you are enough, you are enough." But like, it's not a joke it makes you feel like you're wanted. It makes you feel like you are worthy. It makes you feel good when you get told that. 

Tell us a little bit more about the You Are Enough Foundation

Amy O.: Or when you tell yourself that, right? For sure. So tell us a little more about the organization that you have named You Are Enough.

[00:22:30] Adison:  I founded You Are Enough back in December 2020. This was like at the peak of COVID and I got inspiration for it after reading a book by an author named Haley Hoffman Smith and it was called Her Big Ideal and she founded a non profit in high school and I just felt really inspired by that. I'm like, wow, this young girl is doing such great things, creating such change, like, I want to do something, too, to create change. And I created a list of causes that were important to me, and ultimately, depression and suicide were kind of at the top of that list, because my dad's mom, my grandma Sandy, committed suicide before I was ever born, so I never got the chance to meet her, and so I created You Are Enough in her honor, and also at the time, so many people that I knew were struggling, I was also struggling at the time with anxiety, just from like the isolation of COVID. So like You Are Enough not only was in my grandma Sandy's honor, but just to assure people who were struggling because of the pandemic that they were worthy. They were enough that don't let the isolation don't let the pandemic get to you. And so I just started initially with grassroots, small fundraising, and it just turned out to be this huge, large scale thing. And now I'm sitting in this room and I'm onto my second school and it's just turned into like corporate donations and it's just amazing. 

How does a space like this support students in a highly competitive high school?

[00:24:00] Dr. Lisa: It really is incredible. And I feel like what you're describing from that phrase, you are enough, it just feels extra powerful. Sitting in this room in a high school on the North Shore of Chicago, where it's too easy to forget that. It's too easy to think that you're only enough based on what classes you take and what grades you get and what sports teams you're on and how you're performing. I've heard the phrase before, and it just feels more impactful on that wall, in this room, in this building. Our kids need to hear it.

Adison: Yeah. 

Dr. Lisa: More and more need to hear it.

Adison: Yeah.

Amy O.: I love how when you were describing what it meant to you, your voice got kind of louder and stronger. And it's so cool to look at your passion and watch you do this, Adison, congratulations. I mean, it's, it's amazing. And it's inspiring. And kudos.

Adison: Thank you. 

What other projects is the foundation working on?

Dr. Lisa: Do you have another project in the works through the You Are Enough organization right now?

Adison: We just got the approval for our second space at Wheeling High School. So I'm very excited about that. That's going to be under construction this summer.

Dr. Lisa: Congratulations! 

Adison: Thank you. Very, very excited. That's been in the works for almost a year now. So I'm very excited about that. And there's also discussions right now with some CPS schools and some inner city schools. So hopefully some of those will come to work out. But right now, Wheeling High School is our big project. 

Are there rules for this space?

Dr. Lisa: I'm gonna ask a strange question. Are there rules in this room, rules about volume or numbers of people? Or the first one that was actually, I was curious about is cell phone usage. Do kids come in here and just scroll on, on Instagram or are there policies around that?

[00:25:30] Robyn: That's such an amazing question because the adults, when we were kind of figuring out how this is going to work from, you know, the building level, we were thinking about all those things. But as usual, the kids just worked it out. And there have been, I don't, and this sounds almost incomprehensible, but we don't really need rules. Um, we have a basket that students can put their phone in if they choose. But when students enter the space, I think it's sort of inherent in the room, like they know that they're coming in here for a purpose. We haven't had to say things like, you can't eat in here or you can't use your phone. We want it to feel like a welcoming space. And so if someone wants to eat their lunch in here, like great, you know, we just clean up after ourselves and treat it like we would, you know, any other space. Or if someone needs to come in and has the calm app on their phone or wants to listen to music, great. Great. Like, this is just another place where you can do that, but in a more intentional way. So, you know, when we do have large classes here, we, of course, ask that students use the space as they would any other classroom. But we really haven't had to have, I would say, any sort of shaped out or quote unquote strict rules. 

Adison: Yeah, that was a big discussion over the summer and in the beginning of the school year when we were preparing the space, we weren't sure whether or not computers would be allowed, phones would be allowed, would people be allowed to eat their lunches and like volume, like talking even in the room, we weren't sure if we'd allow talking or if it would be a quiet space, but I agree that everything really worked out well and so we really haven't had issues with that. 

[00:27:00] Robyn: And we have had a surprising amount of students come in and just play chess. I don't know if it's because it's relaxing or it's social but sometimes we'll have just like a group of four or six seemingly sophomore boys. It seems to be like the year of the chess that will just come in and play chess and you know that's kind of their intervention that they need for a little bit and then they travel in a pack and then they leave in a pack And that's great, right because we want to create an environment where it is about belonging and feeling like no matter who you are, if this is your first time or you've been here 20 times, that you can come in and feel welcome.

Amy O.: I've said this before probably on the podcast, but certainly as CATCH moves through the world that, you know, just because you were born on the North Shore of Chicago, where we have pressure filled high schools, doesn't mean that you're cut out for pressure filled high schools. And I feel like this space gives someone who feels that way, or at least feels that way sometimes, some place to come and find peace and a place to breathe and someone like Robyn who might be able to help you understand how to take next steps if you need that support. So good on you.

Adison: Thank you.

What’s next for Adison and what’s next for this space?

 [00:28:30Dr. Lisa: And I know we're running low on time here, but we are curious and I'm sure our listeners are too. What is next for] each of you? So Adison, what's next for you next year? And Robyn, what's next for this space?

Adison: I'm going to the University of Miami next year. I'm not quite sure what I'm studying yet, but I'm hoping to eventually go to law school and do some activism work. I'm definitely going to keep You are Enough. Not planning on getting rid of it and all the work that I've done. I have established a club at Deerfield High School and so there's a really great sophomore who is going to be managing it from here and I'm going to be staying in touch and trying to do work from Miami and I'm really confident in the ability of the club to maintain it while I'm away and also Ms. Corelitz will be the sponsor and she'll definitely be helping out. I'm really confident in the ability of the group to continue the legacy on.

Robyn: Yeah. And my goal for this space is just to continue to support the work that Adison has laid for everyone. Um, and the amazing sophomore and other kids that will stand on her shoulders and keep this going. So I will continue to be here and, you know, advertise our doggy on Fridays because we get the most traffic when Enzo's here. That's for sure. Just be a support person for anybody who's wanting to come into this space. .

Conclusion

[00:30:00]Dr. Lisa: How helpful would this have been in my high school? Well, thank you. Thank you guys so much. Not only for meeting with us today and having this conversation, but thank you for thinking about these things and working on them and taking action and realizing the potential that is here. It makes a difference. It really makes a difference. 

Amy O.: Thanks for listening to another episode of Parenting the Mental Health Generation. 

Dr. Lisa: Stay current on all CATCH programming by liking us on Facebook and Instagram @CATCHisCommunity. You can find information about how to volunteer for CATCH by visiting our website, CATCHisCommunity.org. 

Amy O.: We are glad that you joined us to continue the conversation. It's important to talk about our mental health and reach out for help if needed.