'We Should Talk About It': Youth Summit to Focus on Bullying and Mental Health

 As students in the Tri-State return to the classroom, a local nonprofit wants to prepare them for the new school year.

On Friday (August 13th), the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio (Cincinnati, OH) is hosting a youth summit that focuses on bullying, mental health, and overcoming adversity at Woodward High School.

“I’ve seen [bullying] firsthand and I’ve dealt with it firsthand, which is why I fully agree this is something we should be talking about head-on,” one of the organizers, Mionna Godfrey, said. “We should talk about it.”

Godfrey is 15-years-old and a member of the Urban League’s Urban Champions youth employment program.

She and her peers organized the summit, which is for youth ages 10 to 21 years old.

“Most kids my age will just push it aside and think, ‘It’s okay. This is how they talk to me or this is something to get into the group or this is just normal,’” she said. “But you have to understand that some of the words you say hurt people and that goes into mental health, too. The words you say can hurt people.”

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, one out of every five students is bullied, but less than half of them report it to an adult.

One of the goals of the summit is to encourage students to use their voices.

“It’s important for them to get heavily involved in their community and speak up to city leaders and community leaders so that we can better serve them because ultimately they are our future generation,” Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio program coordinator LaToya Hall said.

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