PITTSBURGH \u2014 It\u2019s the first of its kind in the City of Pittsburgh, a youth forum on safety and mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s a group of young people and we have free rein to really talk about what\u2019s important to us,\u201d said 17-year-old Elena Maria Silva, a high school student at Pittsburgh Alderdice.<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cI think oftentimes the perspective that\u2019s shared is the perspective of teachers and I think it\u2019s really important to ask students what education is like for them and how they can feel better supported.\u201d <\/p>\n
She\u2019s one of several 14-26-year-olds expected to take part in a Youth Forum on Safety and Mental Health at the Black Box Theater on Melwood Avenue, Saturday from 2-4 p.m. <\/p>\n
\u201cPittsburgh is so small in population size that one thing happens and it goes throughout the entire community,\u201d said Farooq Al-Said.<\/p>\n
Farooq Al-Said is the director of education for 1 Hood Media, which is hosting the open forum. It\u2019s part of the \u201cWe Keep Us Safe\u201d program <\/p>\n
Al-Said explained, \u201cIt\u2019s really like a youth leadership development academy that combines policy and advocacy, education, political awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Topics for Saturday\u2019s youth forum include safety and mental health.<\/p>\n
Al-Said said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t talk about mental health when we were younger; it was something that, oh, they have problems if they go to therapy, they have problems if they take medicine. The way the young people look at it is just holistic; they look at it authentically.\u201c<\/p>\n
Silva continued, \u201cHaving access to mental health, health care has changed my life and I will tell anyone that until the day I die. I think it\u2019s such an important conversation and I\u2019m so grateful that we\u2019re talking about it.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Saturday marks the first forum, it won\u2019t be the last, according to organizers. They say they hope to host these forums quarterly.<\/p>\n
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