Resilience isn‘t born, it’s BUILT!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and our student leaders at Oregon City High School have been hard at work learning about primary prevention, risk and resilience, and individual vs. environmental strategies. They were led by professional youth trainer, Nigel Wrangham, through a group process of identifying resilience factors in the face of adversity.

They thoughtfully created the slogan above in hope that they would encourage their peers to know it takes time and effort to build resilience, it’s not just automatic.

Here are some of the building blocks of RESILIENCE:

  • Positive Outlook
  • Emotion Regulation
  • Social Connections
  • Gratitude
  • Coping Skills
  • Self-Awareness
  • Flexibility
  • Problem Solving

The students spent time deciding what they thought would be the best methods of sharing their message. They decided on the following ideas:

  • Posters for schools and community
  • Bracelets with campaign theme/colors
  • Stress reliever bricks with campaign slogan
  • Elevate Plaza brick in Oregon City with campaign slogan
  • *DIY Resilience Wall – large vinyl banner where we will invite students to share their thoughts on how to be/stay resilient (click here to see the results!)

Other campaign components:

  • Social media ads
  • Billboard on 99E at 12th in OC
  • Thriving Together event on 4/24 at Alliance Charter Academy showing Angst and workshop with Dr. Crystal Collier (see below)
  • Middle School Family Forums – incoming 6th grader events 5/15, 5/22

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the showing of the documentary Angst and workshop by Dr. Crystal Collier on Youth Coping Skills! Parents and youth learned many practical skills to  implement in their lives!

We’re grateful for the collaboration with Alliance Charter Academy and The Children’s Center. And, for the funding that helped make this event possible from Clackamas County Children & Family Connections and the Oregon City Youth Opioid prevention grant.

Youth Mental Health DIY Resilience Wall Event

More than 100 students at Oregon City High School wrote what they do to be resilient on a large banner last Friday as part of a peer-to-peer campaign called “Resilience isn’t Born, it’s Built!” The campaign was designed by the school’s advanced placement psychology (APS) class and includes posters distributed throughout the school district and community, as well as bracelets and stress relievers shaped like bricks with the campaign theme.

The effort was funded by an Oregon City Youth Opioid Prevention Grant to the Oregon City Together Coalition. Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff, Police Chief Shaun Davis, Captain David Edwins, School Resource Officer David Plummer and several coalition members joined the students to acknowledge their work.

“We were impressed with how the students helped each other,” said Anne Haynes who heads up the coalition. “It’s vital for youth to have strong social, problem-solving and emotional regulation skills. And in many cases, the best people to help students develop these skills are other students. She adds that peer-to-peer efforts are effective because students know the pressures, the schedules and the social dynamics faced by other students and can offer advice that makes sense in their daily lives.

Advice like don’t worry so much about mistakes because “I’ve messed up a lot in my life but each mistake made me stronger.” shared by APS class member, Gus Murino-Brault. A sampling of what other students wrote on the banner about supporting their own resiliency include; connecting with friends, asking for help when I need it, listening to music, playing sports and family.

“Peer-to-peer campaigns like this one send a message that students are not alone and are in this together,” said Haynes. “We hope to have funding from the city again so we can continue the campaign this fall.”

The Oregon Together Coalition is the only organization in Oregon City that focuses solely on preventing youth substance use. The coalition has been serving Oregon City youth and their families for more than 13 years. Its members include educators, business and community leaders, law enforcement, parents and county public health professionals.