Some recreation centers in Rochester have been bolstered with more mental health supports for teens and their families — the winter school break will offer more opportunities for students to access those services.
Selina Ruiz has been overseeing social-emotional programming at four recreation centers in Rochester since July.
Within the first three months, they served more than 200 teens and young adults. A lot of the work is about building social skills.
The isolation during the first years of the pandemic, along with more time on social media, created challenges that Ruiz said are unique to their generation.
“They don't know how to build friendships the same way,” she said. “They don't know how to resolve conflict when it happens, give each other the benefit of the doubt, identify each other's strengths, find common interests.”
Social learning specialists are working to bridge that divide at four rec centers: the Thomas P Ryan Recreation Center in northeast Rochester, Tyshaun Cauldwell R-Center for Hope on the westside, Willie Walker Lightfoot Recreation Center in the southwest, and David F. Gantt Recreation Center in the northeast.
“Our team being there helps to focus on these topics in a way that is more inclusive,” Ruiz said. “They talk about rejection, they put it right on the table with these young people. Rejection is a universal experience. Now that we know everybody experiences it, how should we respond to it?”
Another aspect of their work is building relationships with families, and helping stabilize the ones who are struggling with food, housing and other basic needs.
All of these challenges affect mental health and can’t be ignored if they are going to be successful in their efforts to build up teens’ mental and emotional health, she said.
“That absolutely will help with that intergenerational trauma, because if we can help stabilize mom and dad that can help stabilize our young people and siblings and give them a new picture of what stability can be. And I think that's vital,” she said.
Shirley Green, the city’s commissioner of Recreation and Human Services, said rec centers also provide a safe space to process difficult feelings and learn coping skills, she said.
“Something can happen in their neighborhood, they'll come to the recreation center, they'll talk about it. And that's what we want,” she said. “We want opportunities for kids to talk about what they're dealing with, so that we can get in front of it, help them give them resources to deal with it, not just with the kids, but also with families.”
Green said the relationships that staff members are building with young people and their families are crucial to improving young people’s quality of life and their chances of future success.
