This month’s gratification post is for Kallie Tavano! Each month we thank an individual, business and/or organization who supports our efforts! We would like thank Kallie, a long-time staff member of ours, for joining us for an internship this summer through Worcester State University, as part of her undergraduate internship/practicum requirement. We were so lucky to have her here two days a week this summer working on mental health awareness and gender inclusiveness initiatives and Summer Milford YouthWorks programming and development! Kallie completed over 120 hours for us! Kallie did such an amazing job and we are so appreciative of all of her hard work!
Kallie also completed a reflection paper in which you can read about her experience in her own words here: “Completing my internship at the Milford Youth Center allowed me to grow and expand my knowledge in numerous areas. Although public health promotion programs can focus on any sort of health issue, within the town of Milford they primarily target promoting physical wellness like exercise and nutrition. Before beginning the internship I knew I wanted to create a program to promote mental health awareness because of the lack of current programming within the community, however I struggled to find a focal point due to the complexity of the topic. Working in the emergency department at our local hospital, Milford Regional Medical Center, allowed me to visualize first hand the dire need for youth mental health resources. Since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, MRMC has seen some of the highest numbers of youth behavioral patients ever recorded. Oftentimes the kids coming in were there because they went days, weeks, months, and even years struggling with their mental health but failed to receive treatment. Failure to receive treatment can be attributed to numerous factors including; lack of access to healthcare, fear of stigma surrounding mental health, financial limitations, and lack of knowledge. With these exponential rates of youth mental illness and no current programs in place to promote a more positive emotional, psychological, and social well-being I knew I needed to take action. After discussing with The Milford Youth Center’s administration and assessing the YouthWorks members, it became apparent that there was a critical need to educate the members on the stigmas surrounding mental health, possible warning signs of mental illness, and local resources in the community to receive treatment.
After evaluating the demographics of the target population and other predisposing factors it became clear that the YouthWorks members were at an extremely increased risk of developing a mental health disorder. This is due to predisposing factors like race/ethnicity, income-level, education level, etc. Through the use of an anonymous survey I was able to confirm that mental health disorders were prevalent among the target population with 30.8% of respondents reporting considering suicide and only 16% reporting receiving treatment for their mental health. Since I was young, I have always had a passion to create change and help the community. Even though I only worked with a small group of roughly 13 children, following the presentation each one of them were able to take away additional information that they otherwise would not have had access to. Following the in-person presentation, each member received an information sheet containing all pertinent information from the presentation along with a QR code directly linking them to the websites of a multitude of local resources and facilities. This information sheet is posted on the new mental health awareness board I created that provides more information along with an area to post positive comments for their peers. Although the YouthWorks members were the primary target audience this programming can be extremely beneficial to all youth center members. Another community that is at an extremely increased risk of developing mental health disorders is the LGBTQ+ community. Although MYC does everything within its power to create an inclusive environment for its members there were certain changes needed to be made. After hearing a parent’s concerns regarding which bathroom their transgender child should use, I was inspired to begin taking the necessary steps to create a gender-neutral bathroom within the facility. After conducting research and educating myself on the code requirements in Massachusetts, I presented the idea to the MYC board of directors who approved the motion to change the bathroom signage from male & female to gender-neutral in the single stall restrooms. I also adjusted our computer system and our registration forms to include preferred names and pronouns to extend our support to the LGBTQ+ community. As a whole, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be able to make the necessary changes to build a more inclusive environment at the Milford Youth Center.”