Defying the self- and selfie-obsessed bad rap ascribed to their generation, these three are keenly aware of the people, and problems, around them.

In the waning days of summer, 17-year-old Michael Branche, 14-year-old Marquel Reese and 15-year-old Bryheem Forbes could be anywhere else, doing anything else. But instead of sports, sun, and fun, they are focused on some serious business.

"We need to get the youth involved and break the stigma of mental illness," Branche said.

Defying the self- and selfie-obsessed bad rap ascribed to their generation, these three are keenly aware of the people, and problems, around them.

"When you go to school you'll see people walking around with their head down, or just not up, up how they used to be, that's how you understand they're going through something at home," Reese said.

"You cannot sound too judgmental to that person,” Forbes said. “You've got to have a kind, caring voice toward that person."

"You wouldn't tell a person who has cancer to just beat cancer...We do that to people with mental health illnesses,” Branche said.

Like so many, mental health is an issue that's touched their neighborhoods and peers. Unlike so many, they've had the benefit of training to recognize it, and do something about it.

"For us, mental health is more than the illness side. It's wellness. It's promotion. To us it's mental health promotion,” George Hicks, a Prevention Specialist at Maryhaven treatment center, said.

Hicks leads a program that was born of tragedy. After the Sandy Hook school massacre, President Obama urged communities to start conversations around violence and mental health.

In south Columbus, they took that call seriously. From that came the Southside Community Collaborative, and from that came the Teen Institute.

"There's poverty, there's violence, there's drug abuse,” Hicks said. "There's generational trauma, there's just a lot of things we're overcoming. We just know that if we put those positive assets into our kids, that they can overcome those."

Hicks is one of the "Adult Allies" leading the Teen Institute. The teens work with youth at the Barack Recreation Center in South Columbus.

And last week, they took what they've learned to our nation's capital.

"Our mentors always talked about- we're going places. And we didn't really believe them, until we're actually on a plane, going to Washington, DC,” Branche said.

They represented Columbus among just six cities invited to take part in a national dialogue on mental health.

"It was just a great experience to have,” Reese said.

Hicks said it is an experience they've earned.

"All of them are Honor Roll students,” he said. “They're our leaders. And that's why we do this. We're making a difference. And this is the kind of work that we need to do. Yeah. It's the kind of work we need to do."



Teen Institute members meet every Saturday from January through May to learn about topics including leadership and mental wellness.