Inside Downers Grove | Giving Back
GROWNING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY
A GROUP OF LOCAL WOMEN HELP THE COMMUNITY TO LEARN, CONNECT, AND ENAGE ERIN GUTH, LORI DOY, ANN CUMMINS, MELISSA NUTTALL, PAIGE PUC AND SARAH DIEHL
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rowing up amid a backdrop of social and technological changes like no previous generation, today’s teens are facing record levels of mental health problems. Just Google “teen issues,” and the results are sobering: stress, bullying, depression, suicide, just to name a few. In the fall of 2017, it was these issues—and tragedies within Downers Grove and other western suburbs—that had a small group of friends wondering what could be done. “We had this shared concern for our kids and the well-being of this generation,” Melissa Nuttall of Downers Grove said. “We knew there were various local resources out there, but couldn’t find anything that really brought it all together. So, we decided we’d try.” Thus, grit2 (Growing Resiliency In Teens Together) was born. “Parenting today is hard,” grit2 co-founder Sarah Diehl said. “With technology and social media, our teens really have a completely different landscape than we did growing up. It’s like being asked to guide someone up Everest—and you’ve only ever been to Starved Rock.” To better understand the landscape, the founders met with local high-school principals, counselors and social workers, as well as regional advocacy groups including the National Alliance for Mental Health (NAMI) chapter in DuPage County and Navigate Adolescence. They identified existing resources and opportunities to complement what was already being offered, while also consulting similar models outside the area such as Kids Matter in Naperville and Barrington’s BStrong Together. “We had no healthcare or counseling backgrounds; we were basically a bunch of moms with an idea,” grit2 co-founder Erin Guth said. “Yet the professional community couldn’t have been more welcoming or excited to have another partner in the area.” With the goal of helping the community learn, connect and 52
engage, the co-founders created a website, www.grit2.org, to serve as a hub of local information, and established an advisory board of industry professionals. To date, grit2 has hosted speakers on technology, mindful parenting, academic stress, anxiety and resilience, and offered conversation circles—smaller, private group discussions led by a professional—on a variety of topics. Additionally, the organization recently introduced the Gritty Parent Book Club. Led by advisory board members Jen Benish and Peggy Tomchek, the 15-member club will connect and support each other through the review and discussion of parenting books. First up is The Teenage Brain by Frances E. Jensen. “We have great upcoming programs, and are looking to add more community partners and host an increasing number of events each year,” co-founder Lori Doy said. “We’re really excited to keep growing and learning in order to offer the best support we can to this amazing community.” For more information on grit2 and other area upcoming events, as well as to take a survey on topics you’d like grit2 to address, visit www. Lori Doy and Erin Guth at the Downers Grove grit2.org. ■ South provider fair
DOWNERS GROVE MAGAZINE
