My name is Henry Ades and I am a Junior here at SHC. I went to middle school at A.P. Giannini and I live in the Sunset district of San Francisco. Some of my favorite extracurriculars I participate in at the moment are soccer and singing (through four choirs at school as well as an outside program). Things I also enjoy outside of school are playing video games, hanging out with friends, and watching F1. These three years of being a member of i2 have been so much fun and I’ve learned so much along the way.
This year, for my i2 project, a couple of my friends (Emma, Katia, and Angeline) and I are working on a website for mostly teenagers, that shares information about mental health and also is an outlet to share anything on their mind.
Angeline, Emma, Henry, and Katia have noticed their peers or even themselves have experienced the struggles of keeping up with their mental health; whether it be due to stress in school, pressure in sports, or even just anxiety about day-to-day experiences. They found that there weren’t many ways to express this feeling within themselves in a healthy way because of the lack of outlets. Although there are definitely adults that are more then happy to assist teenagers that go to them for help, there aren’t many teens that are open to having a conversation with an adult. This leaves teens going to their friends who may give them comfort, but they don’t know how to fully help. The lack of outlets for teens that experience mental health issues makes it more difficult to seek help and get better. When they researched the amount of teens that have mental illness they were not surprised to find that about 1 in 5 teens are suffering with mental illness. With the expertise of those who have information of any mental illnesses and a community that is welcoming and willing to learn, we want to create a safe place where teens can go to educate themselves, find resources, and ask questions.
Project details