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Southlake student outlines Sept. 6 Youth Wellness Summit to address adolescent mental health
Summary
Carroll Senior High student Sonya Kareem described a youth wellness summit for ages 10–14 that will include student workshops and parent sessions; she said the event aims to provide coping strategies and community resources.
A Carroll Senior High School student outlined plans Aug. 5 for a community Youth Wellness Summit aimed at Southlake students ages 10 to 14 and their parents.
Student presenter Sonya Kareem described the Southlake Youth Wellness Summit, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, at White's Chapel Evans Hall. "The summit is designed for Southlake students ages 10 to 14 and their parents to learn coping strategies and advice through action," she said.
Kareem detailed planned interactive student workshops such as yoga, art therapy, journaling and vision-board activities, and parent sessions on topics including setting healthy boundaries and navigating social media. She said summit speakers and workshop leaders include local mental-health professionals and organizations such as House of Shine and the Wait Till Eighth campaign. Kareem acknowledged support from Carroll ISD trustee Andrew Yeager, former director of counseling Deborah Warner and Carroll ISD principals at the intermediate and middle schools.
"While raising awareness is extremely helpful, where we'll see these numbers dwindle is through action," Kareem said, referencing Centers for Disease Control data she cited about adolescent unmet mental-health needs. She described prior work as a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, fundraising $1,000 and distributing more than 1,600 stress-relief items to students across four Carroll ISD schools.
Kareem invited council members and residents to attend and thanked those who supported the event; Mayor Sean McCaskill and council members expressed appreciation for her work and said they planned to attend. Kareem also recognized Dr. Michael Messina, who she said will lead a parent session on navigating social-media challenges.
The student emphasized the event's focus on practical coping skills and local resources and said free lunch and community resource booths will be available for attendees.
