INDIANAPOLIS — A local advocate for teens and young adults is working to stop the violence in the Indianapolis community by reminding teens and their parents there’s help available.
Lisa Hutcheson is the director of the non-profit ICAN or the Indiana Collegiate Action Network. She works behind the scenes with the leaders of other organizations on a mission to protect and advocate for young people, by getting to the root any problem they’re having before gun violence and crime hits home.
“I think that’s what we need more of, we need more of those leaders in the community, in organizations, in our businesses to say ‘hey its ok to reach out for this help,” she said.
Hutcheson splits her time with each group, focusing on mental health awareness and action in the state legislature, to give teens and young adults the support they need to turn away from violence and crime.
“The violence that is experienced by young people when they’re children, infants even, really does impact them for the rest of their life,” she said. “That could be familial violence, with parents who are always fighting, or fights that happen in the neighborhood, of course gun violence is a part of that.”
She says exposure to guns and violence starts young, with alcohol, drugs, and mental health all playing huge factors. She also says teens are less likely to get help or even know they need it, before its too late.
“There’s still a large stigma, though we’ve made a lot of progress with especially young people reaching out and asking for help, and its easier sometimes to resort to violence than to say ‘hey I really am scared about this or I’m having anxiety or I’m depressed, I don’t know what to do with those feelings.’ So they resort to more violent behavior.”
For Hutcheson, the work is never ending, and she doesn’t do it alone.
There are conferences, surveys, and grants, plus the sharing of resources and best practices – all to let the community know there’s help out there; It’s just a phone call away.
“I think a lot of it is about education, trying to break down those barriers and say you know what, it’s okay to ask for help,” Hutcheson said. “It doesn’t make you any less of a man, or any less of an adult to reach out for help and say ‘I can’t handle what’s going on in my life, I really need some help.’”
The local organizations Mental Health America of Indiana, the Indiana Collegiate Action Network, and the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking are good places to start.
They all say help is available for teens or adults and for anyone looking to turn their lives around.
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