A partnership between a youth organization and a counseling service has potential to break down barriers.
Counselors from Pathways Community Health will be available to members of the Boys and Girls Club, thanks to a three-year grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health.
The grant will provide a Pathways counselor at each of the club's three after-school locations. They are East School, South School and Southwest Early Childhood Center, which serves students at Moreau Heights, Thorpe Gordon, Lawson and West elementary schools.
This is not about diagnosing mental illness among a select group of young people; it is about listening to children and working with them to develop responsible coping skills.
And that's something that can be helpful to all young people - and adults - as they face life's challenges and the lure of unhealthy alternatives, including drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, cutting, bullying, etc.
Stephanie Johnson, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club, conceded some parents expressed reservations about the program when it first was introduced at a summer camp.
"At first, parents thought something was wrong with their child," she said. "Now, they realize that's not what anybody's saying. We're saying let's help them build better relationships. Let's help them grow in that sense. Now, parents are more open-minded about the situation."
Suzanne Taggart, Pathways' director of community-based service for the central region, added: "That's one of the things we were really hoping would come out of this - that it's more of a dialogue with families and staff and counselors so that kids can be operating at their best and engaged so that they can be successful in all their requirements."
Johnson referenced the "stigma" associated with counseling - an association that deserved to wither in an enlightened society.
Counseling is a form of communication.
We all face challenges in life, and we all can benefit from an avid listener trained to offer helpful suggestions.
This partnership has potential not only to help young people, but to shatter any residual stigma associated with communicating through counseling.