Macon Magazine

APRIL/MAY 2022 | maconmagazine.com 103 PACE CENTER FOR GIRLS A recent report from the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention examined changes in pediatric emergency department visits for mental health conditions. It found that adolescent girls (12-17 years) accounted for the largest increases in the number and proportion of emergency department visits for mental health conditions in 2020, 2021 and in January 2022 compared to 2019. The report goes on to say it's difficult to pinpoint one contributing factor to this, but does state it is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While many girls have already been dealing with mental health issues, the stress and grief brought on by the pandemic made it more difficult to cope. "Sometimes I may be showing that I'm feeling okay on the outside, but people don't know how I'm really feeling on the inside. I'll tell people I'm okay when I'm really not," said Ma'Kaliyah S., a 15-year-old freshman at Southwest High School. "And I know I'm not the only one who is like that." About a year ago, Ma'Kaliyah joined the Pace Center for Girls in Macon. Pace is a nonprofit organization aimed to provide girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy. There are 21 locations across Florida, and just one in Georgia, which is in Macon at the Booker T. Washington Community Center. Pace takes a more personal approach to guiding girls in our community, and services are catered to each girl from ages 11 to 17. In each session, they meet for about an hour at Booker T. Washington Community Center, their homes, schools or anywhere they feel the most comfortable. "During the shutdown, because of the pandemic, it was tough for girls," said Rebecca Richard, Reach Program Manager of the Macon location. "Parents were working and kids were home. One girl told me, 'I stare at these same four walls every day and it's getting to me. My phone was my outlet.' It's not necessarily healthy, but it was their only way of socializing, which could unfortunately lead to cyberbullying or pressure." Through Pace, the girls get to talk one-on-one with their counselors as well as practice different activities, such as mindfulness and breathing. It provides an outlet outside of their home and school lives. The goal is to get them to think differently. "Pace and Ms. Rebecca have gotten me to open up more and talk to people and smile more," said Ma'Kaliyah. "Some of my friends have noticed, too." Typically, during a therapeutic session, the therapist does a lot of the talking in the beginning. "You know it's going well when a teen just comes in and slumps down on the couch and they just start talking and don't need any prompts. That's when I know I'm seeing a change," Richard said. TEENS TAKING THE LEAD WITH MENTAL HEALTH Discussions about mental health are taking a turn, especially among teenagers. Those who are starting to open up more about their feelings and problems are hoping to get others to join. That's the case for Stratford Academy Senior Darran Shivdat. He started S2S, Student 2 Student. It's a student forum aimed to normalize talking about mental illnesses in teens. The S2S forum started during the pandemic as students were having to deal with online classes and isolation. They weren't having the typical lunch table conversations and social interaction, so Shivdat wanted to create a safe space to talk to one another and have open conversations. "I received a lot of positive feedback about S2S from teens who were lacking social interaction with people their age," said Shivdat. "They were also dealing with their own stresses, so they were able to openly talk about it, while learning that it's okay to talk about mental health." The forum is meant for every teen and young adult in our community, Shivdat explained, as well as throughout the country. He said students from different states like California and Massachusetts were joining the conversations. "It was an interesting dynamic to have freshman in high school and then juniors at Harvard talking about mental health issues. It really brings two completely different perspectives to the table, but they were both able to resonate with each other and understand each other's problems and help each other," said Shivdat. LEFT: STRATFORD ACADEMY STUDENTS DARRAN SHIVDAT AND ABBIE ROSE PERKEL. RIGHT: REBECCA RICHARD AND MA'KALIYAH S. AT THE PACE CENTER.

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