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Recognition
Reception Honoree The Youth at Peace Program was established at Bishop McDevitt High School in 1994 after the tragic murder of a young person created tremendous tension within the student body at the school. Founders Father Paul Brandt and guidance counselor Carole Anne Dominello saw the need for their students to have a supportive environment where they could process the turmoil and chaos that they felt at the time. Much of the focus initially was to help the students deal with the grief they were experiencing and find non-violent ways to respond to the incident. Father Brandt and Ms. Dominello located a room in the lower level of the school, named "Chillville" by the students, where they could create a living room environment and run groups to address these issues. Since that time, Youth at Peace has addressed and targeted the broader emotional needs of the adolescents within the Bishop McDevitt High School community. It now stresses the importance of teens being drug- and alcohol-free and finding non-violent resolution of the conflicts that inevitably arise among teens. The program consists of weekly visits from professionals who give educational presentations, conduct support groups, and provide individual counseling. The program facility, Chillville, is decorated by students, is open for drop-in counseling before and after school, allowing teens to deal with any stresses in their lives outside school. Since its inception, Youth at Peace has served about 2,500 students at Bishop McDevitt High School. Along with these oppotunities, Youth at Peace also offers educational sessions during lunch period dealing with various adolescent social issues, such as drinking, drugs, depression, eating disorders, violence, conflict, divorce of parents, handling anger in a healthy way, and self-identity issues. Youth at Peace has also provided presentations for parents. Youth at Peace has been honored with the Benjamin Rush Award for its major contribution to the understanding and treatment of mental illness by a non-psychiatrist. It received a Citizens And Police Together (C.A.P.T.) grant to help with its early development, and Aldersgate has provided the program with a counselor during the past year. Future plans and hopes include providing a counselor every day for the program, serving more students, formulating a schedule of monthly presentations for parents, and increasing awareness of the program among students, parents, and leaders of the community. |
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