The Importance of Community and Mentorship

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201212/our-hierarchy-needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs argues that an individual cannot begin to prioritize their social needs before feeling secure in their ability to procure the basics of survival. Without base of sustenance, shelter, and safety, it is not impossible but very difficult to to work on fully making the connections that humans need in order to maintain their mental health. Furthermore, these relationships are incredibly important to the development of young people both to aid their brains in socially maturing as well to model healthy relationships in the future. However, if an individual—or family unit—is preoccupied with taking care of their physiological and safety needs, then they may have less energy to put towards taking part in a community. This can take a toll on long-term mental health. 

This demonstrates the importance of programs that emphasize in community building and establishing meaningful relationships among houseless youth. Providing an area where there is access to resources such as food and hygienic products(addressing the first tier of the hierarchy) coupled with an understanding team and opportunity to interact with their peers(second and third tier) is a crucial combination in creating a ‘safe space’. 

One of these programs offered in Portland, Oregon is Friends of the Children. Full time employed staff, known as “friends” are assigned to individual children and meet with them on a regular basis to aid in their education as well as establishing a mentor connection with them. As long as the youth is enrolled in the program, they are guaranteed their “friend” for 12.5 years (the duration of the K-12 education track). They have a fantastic success rate and have been established for around 25 years. Programs such as Friends of the Children are a great example of acknowledging the importance of basic needs when also working on community building.

Learn more about Friends of the Children

More PDX youth programs and shelters

LGBTQ Youth and Mental Health

It's been shown that LGBTQ youth suffer from higher rates of anxiety and fear for wellbeing than heterosexual, cisgendered youth in the same areas and age brackets. This is due to fears of intolerance from family members, subsequent homelessness, and hate-fueled violence. Ninety-five percent of those interviewed for the Washington Post article reported having difficulty sleeping, and it's no wonder. If you are constantly fearing for your safety and struggling with anxiety, that will logically cause you to struggle to fall asleep, and lack of sleep has been shown to negatively impact mental health. 

Concerning rates of depression and suicide have also been reported in LGBTQ youth, which once again connects to how acceptance affects mental health.

If anything I hope this post and linked articles demonstrates the importance of mental health resources for LGBTQ youth, and how the need for acceptance in their lives quite literally affects their health, both mental and physical. The time is now to help LGBTQ youth, especially in these times where they may be trapped inside homes and situations with people that are unhealthy for them. 

Even if you are not directly affected by this, it demonstrates the need for mental health assistance in our communities, particularly in those at higher risk of depression and suicide.

To learn more, follow these links:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2018/05/14/083b9ae4-57ab-11e8-b656-a5f8c2a9295d_story.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4887282/

Free Food For Students in Need

A colorful diet 

It's always heartening to see people stepping up where help is needed. With the exorbitant costs of textbooks, rent in Portland, and tuition, more and more students are needing assistance to just get by. Despite working a part-time or even full-time job, most college students take free food anywhere they can get it. It's unfortunate that being a college student these days generally means being broke all the time. At Portland State University, however, there is a great resource for students who need food. 

Every week day from 12:30-2:30 pm, the Portland State University Food Pantry is open to students in need. Students can pick out what food they need from a large selection of free items. The PSU Food Pantry buys up to 5,000 pounds of food each week from the Oregon Food Bank, giving students many options to pick from. PSU has also partnered with Harvest Share to provide the Free Food Market, a program that meets every second Monday of the month that is welcome to all PSU students, faculty, staff and community members. 

Homelessness and poverty are big issues that we all we all see daily, but these events can really help folks get back on their feet and provide a great resource for free food. 

If you or a student you know is in need, follow the links below for more details. 

Food Assistance through PSU

Additional Resources through PSU

Monthly Free Food Market