From left, Westinghouse Academy students Amber Taylor, 18, of Wilkinsburg, Miyah Hall, 16, of Lincoln-Lemington, Sanai Banks, 16, of North Homewood, and La’Niya Brown, 16, of Turtle Creek, share a laugh as they unwind from a day of school during a HYPE (Homewood Youth-Powered and Engaged) Media workshop after school on Monday, March 13, 2023, at the University of Pittsburgh Community Engagement Center in Homewood. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Awareness around mental health has grown, and students are working to create better supports for themselves.
by Lajja Mistry, PublicSource
Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the Community Engagement Center in Homewood welcomes a handful of high school girls from the nearby Westinghouse Academy of Pittsburgh Public Schools [PPS].
On a Monday afternoon in March, the girls had a long and rough day at school. Amber Taylor, a senior at Westinghouse, was told by a teacher that she was failing herself. The overwhelming classes and her teacher’s remarks made Taylor want to cry.
By the time the girls made their way over to the center, they were emotionally and mentally drained. But half an hour into it, their worries were shelved as the students were giggling over TikToks and sharing a McDonald’s meal.
The girls found this respite at the thrice-weekly sessions organized by Homewood Youth Powered & Engaged [HYPE] Media, a critical literacies program focused on youth-led story-making possibilities that respond to stigmatized narratives of Black girls, Black women and Black communities.
The HYPE Media sessions serve as a space for teen girls in Pittsburgh to relax and chat about their struggles with mental health and the pressures of high school.
In February, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] report found increasing mental health challenges, experiences of violence and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, particularly among teen girls. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that nearly 60% of female students experienced feelings of sadness and hopelessness, twice as much as male students.
While awareness around mental health challenges has grown, teen girls in the Pittsburgh region are working to have their voices heard and creating better supports for themselves and their peers.
Feeling voiceless and alone
Allderdice High School senior Abby Blank was in ninth grade when COVID-19 hit. When school went virtual, Blank started noticing an increase in her anxiety levels and struggled to maintain new friendships.
Blank was not the only one. She also witnessed her peers struggling and a pattern of decline in their mental health.
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