Group delivers life skills to teens

SANDPOINT — It has never been easy to be a teenager. But somehow, in these tech-crazy times, that transition seems to be more difficult than ever.

Tragically, teen suicides in Bonner County have placed the topic front-and-center. Two local counselors have stepped up with a plan to support parents and schools and, more critically, kids themselves as they traverse this rocky phase of life.

At present, they are the only two local residents trained in a no-cost program called CAST — short for Coping And Support Training — which will work with teens during the course of 12 sessions held over a span of six weeks.

To make that happen, Barb Perusse and Suzi Majeski, both of whom are licensed professional counselors running separate practices in Sandpoint, have formed a new group they call Reconnecting Youth.

“Our goal, if this takes off, is to have more people trained and have this in each school,” said Perusse, noting that the first wave ideally would include on-site services at Sandpoint High School, Lake Pend Oreille High School, Forrest M. Bird Charter High School and Clark Fork High School. “We’ve met with the schools to let them know this is a resource, but also to ask, ‘What do you guys need?’”

According to Perusse, area schools are primed to take on this thorny issue and already have many of the resources in place to do so. Reconnecting Youth, she added, would be there to throw its shoulder against the wheel.

“It’s not about starting something — the groundwork has already been done by the schools and other people in the community,” she said. “This is about continuing something. Our town is in a great spot right now to help. We have the resources in place to help these kids.”

Among them, she listed, are school resource officers, teachers, coaches, churches, individual counseling and — in moments of crisis — the after-hours hotline created by North Idaho Crisis Services.

What Majeski and Perusse discovered during their training session in Texas was that kids need practical skills they can use to counter the harmful effects of things as simple as negative social media and as devastating as sexual abuse or teen suicide.

In its six-week sessions, Reconnecting Youth will teach them how to acknowledge feelings, rather than stuffing them away, how to have a conversation in real time, as opposed to a text message, how to set personal goals and be accountable for them and how to develop a personal support group of friends. Also discussed will be topics such as mindfulness and managing social media — a platform for anonymous bullying that has parents and educators very worried.

Calling someone ugly has been a staple of schoolyard hazing for as long as there have been schoolyards, but technology has taken hurling insults to a more deadly level.

“The bullying is out of control and now, you don’t even know who’s doing it,” Perusse said. “I had a girl who was told over Snapchat that she should kill herself because she’s so ugly.”

Historically, nothing can send a teen running faster in the opposite direction than an expression of concern from an adult — especially if that adult happens to be a parent. But with the heartbreaking loss of four local high school students through teen suicide in the past two years, kids are on board with the idea that things need to change.

“I think more and more, they know what’s at stake,” said Perusse. “They’re starting to understand this is serious.”

On Nov. 2, Reconnecting Youth will hold its first public event as a way to attract teens and announce its intentions as a group. Sponsored by Summit Insurance, the group will host a free showing of the PG-13 movie, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” at 5:30 p.m. on the big screen at the Panida Theater.

After the movie, a panel primarily made up of students from the four local high schools will answer questions submitted anonymously by audience members. The panel will be led by Catherine Perusse (no relation to Barb), who was a driving force behind the formation of the North Idaho Crisis Service hotline project.

Students who stay for the movie and panel discussion will be eligible to win one of three iPad minis or one of several gas cards being raffled off at the end of the evening. Perusse pointed out that the choice of the Panida was a way to bring the community together “in our local community theater.”

“The movie addresses things like suicide, bullying, drugs, being an outsider, sexual abuse and the issues of being a gay student,” said Perusse.

What happens after this inaugural event depends on how the community chooses to move forward to face down its societal demons.

In concert with existing groups such as Underground Kindness and Sources of Strength, Perusse believes real progress is about to be made.

“I don’t have an answer, but my gut is that we have to have this conversation,” she said. “Our overarching goal is to open minds and hearts — to continue the conversation and encourage people to reach out.”

For more information on the movie, upcoming sessions with Reconnecting Youth or the prospect of training in the CAST program, contact Barb Perusse at 208-290-2457.