Area Catholic schools will welcome a new resource for students when classes begin next week.
Informational sessions will introduce students to the Anne Marie Project, a coalition to help students deal with challenges, including drugs, alcohol, pre-marital sex, eating disorders, bullying, mental health, faith and more.
The sessions mark an expansion of website and blog, www.learntalklive.com, created by Julie Gramlich, a youth minister at the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
On the site, she describes herself as a wife and mother who believes: "It is my life's work to empower my daughters and other young people with the knowledge that they are not alone in their struggles, they are loved and that no matter what they do in life God will never abandon them."
Contributors to the "Real People" section on the site include Helias students and graduates, other Jefferson City residents and former residents, members of the clergy and mental health professionals.
Their perspectives and experiences show no one faces a challenge alone; any struggle is shared not only by God, but by other people. And insights are offered to guide people to available resources.
Gramlich said the outreach into the schools also is designed to forge partnerships with parents to enhance both prevention and education.
In addition, the Anne Marie Project will collaborate with University of Missouri students to create a social media strategy to reach more teens and to counter online bullying and other ills of social media.
Gramlich said her objective is for teens to accept themselves and learn coping skills so they can avoid turning to dangerous behaviors, including alcohol and drug use.
"My task is to direct kids back to God and how He can help them," Gramlich said.
Growing up is fraught with pressures and anxieties, and social media can multiply the scope and depth of challenges for young people.
Expansion of the Anne Marie Project provides another resource to remind young people they are not alone, resources are available and, in Gramlich's words, "God will never abandon them."