What’s Right With Our Schools: Brotherhood Brunch at Pneuma Church

1 hour ago

Andrew Harrison,

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WDEF) – Teenage boys aren’t the best at talking about their feelings. They want to appear strong and tough, but that can take a toll on their mental health. Getting them to open up was the focus of a recent Brotherhood Brunch at a Pneuma Church. We give you a seat at the table in this week’s “What’s Right With Our Schools.”

“We want to really continue on in this effort to educate our people uh about mental health. Mental health is so stigmatized uh in our community. People shy away from uh and just close off to opening up and speaking to people about the different things that they may be dealing with and going through. Uh and when you internalize those things over and over again, you you blow up at some point in time,” LaDarius Price, President, Placing Infusion around Kids said.

“I want our young people today to to gain knowledge and understanding that it’s okay to not be okay, but what do you need to do? Who do you need to tap into? And what are some of the different facets and methods that you can utilize in order for you to regain and get back on track?” Price continued.

Price says, “Because of all the different things that we, you know, deal with. uh whether it be us coming out of a pandemic, uh whether it be our, you know, our government and politics and just every the everyday stresses of life, you know, people deal with so much on a day-to-day basis. We need to learn how to deescalate uh and really just bring it down and get off to ourself and just, you know, work through the different things that we’re dealing with and going through.”

“Me myself, I done been through some things and I don’t really feel comfortable talking to others about, expressing myself. I try to keep things to myself. But definitely after the talk they gave with today, I learned it’s okay to express yourself with others. Ask for help because you might need it,” Angel Strickland, Senior, The Howard School said.

“A lot of the stuff they’re saying I could use in my real life. You know, keeping a close a relationship with God, keeping the right people in your life, keeping um you know, keeping a good support system,” Elijah Heath, Senior, Hixson High School said.

“And we have to continue to educate our young people and build them up, encourage them, uh and teach them that life is not about entitlement, but it’s about learning and developing and growing so you can be the best you,” Price said.