Genesis Whitlock- Rising Senior at MHS
Elias Benchekroun-Rising Senior at MHS
Jack Rodriquez-Vars-Rising Junior at MHS
Gen, Jack, and Elias plan to upload a podcast (est. 15-20 mins) every week that allows POC to speak openly about their struggles with mental illness and implicit messages they’ve internalized on social media that make it difficult to speak about it. While having discussions with their peers they will also ask the people they interview to take a survey and they will collect other forms of data after they interview them to see if there are ways teens can be more conscious of how the stigma surrounding mental health is perpetuated and ultimately design a more open environment where POC have access to resources needed. Their mentor is Gayl Shepard who is a teacher in the Montclair Public Schools and also the Restorative Justice Coordinator for Montclair Public Schools.
