During a Main Street Nevada Board meeting in 2024, the topic of “looking out for Nevada’s youth” came up. We discussed that it’s not the school’s job to help parent the school-aged citizens of Nevada, but rather, all of us as a community should be doing things to support our youth and their mental wellness.
This discussion led to the “It Takes a Village” series, which includes the topics of youth suicide and screen usage. Both of these are hot topics in society right now as the younger generations are spending so much time on their screens and the youth suicide rate is scary.
Main Street Nevada partnered with the Nevada Community School District to bring two programs to the community. The first one was a true story of a young girl who tried to end her life. She spoke to the high school students during an assembly in the auditorium, sharing her story and inspiring them to see the good in their lives. That evening, parents were invited to view her documentary, “My Ascension”, at the Camelot Theater. This was a free event, thanks to sponsorships from The Redshirt Foundation, Story Medical, United Way of Story County and the NCSD. Counselors from the school and community were on hand to visit with anyone who needed it, as well as the founder of The Redshirt Foundation, who assisted in bringing this program to Nevada. The First United Methodist Church offered free babysitting with free dinner during this important event so parents could attend. This was truly a community effort!
The second program is a two-part documentary on the effects of screen usage. The first film, “Screenagers” was also shown at the Camelot Theater. Those in attendance were reminded that it’s not just the kids whose screen time is excessive, but adults as well. This is hurting family dynamics, as we learned from the film. The second part of this documentary, “Screenagers: The Next Chapter”, will be shown on Tuesday, February 25th at 6:30pm at the Camelot Theater. This will be a free event as well and all are welcome! The film is 63 minutes long and you do not need to have seen the first film.
We thank everyone who has attended one or both of these important films and understands that “It takes a village” to raise our youth.
