Norwalk Offers Empathy and Critical Support to Teens in Crisis The rates of depression and anxiety among children in the United States have risen steadily in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children aged 6–17 years who were diagnosed with anxiety or depression increased from 5.4 percent in 2003 to 8.4 percent in 2012. Approximately 11 percent of young people ages 12–17 were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in 2019. Depression and anxiety are two of the most common risk factors for suicide, which is the second leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States today. In the City of Norwalk (pop. 105,717), located in Los Angeles County, 23.7 percent of the city’s residents are under the age of 18, and a substantial portion of that group is between the ages of 13 and 18. In the city’s Recreation and Park
Services Department, staff who interacted extensively with Norwalk youth expressed concerns that many young residents felt lost, misunderstood, and abandoned. A steadily increasing number of Norwalk teenagers were confiding in staff members about personal struggles related to bullying, mental health issues, and more.
Tragedy Spurs the We Have Project After a Norwalk teenager died by suicide in 2018, the recreation staff believed that immediate action was needed to help prevent similar tragedies. They sought a way to address risk factors and connect effectively with youths in crisis. To minimize the impact on the department’s fiscal resources, a team of recreation staff members volunteered their personal time and video equipment to develop a solution: the We Have Project.
To reach out to young people in the community, the team created a video that features a series of individual, informal testimonials from 12 recreation staffers who work extensively with Norwalk youth. The individual participants speak directly to the viewer and ask, “Have you ever …?” Each person provides a different scenario, including, “… Been told you weren’t good enough? Felt pressured to fit in? Been bullied because of your size or weight? Been made fun of because of the clothes you wear? Been cyberbullied because of your ethnicity? Been pressured to do something you didn’t want to so you would fit in and be cool?” The group answers in unison, “We have.” In a candid, authentic way, the staff members describe their personal struggles and difficult experiences. In telling their stories, they provide support, offer advice, and encourage youths to share their
The City of Norwalk won the award for Excellence in the Health and Wellness category of the 2020 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program. For more information about the award program, visit www.helenputnam.org.
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League of California Cities
www.cacities.org
