“Dear SAFE” is an Instagram-based project launched in October as a tribute to Mental Health Awareness Month. The idea was to have adolescents submit their mental health or substance use related questions to be answered by SAFE's clinical social worker, Alli Stokowski, LICSW.
Alli’s expertise allowed her to give in-depth answers to questions ranging from “How do pets affect mental health?” to “How do I help someone struggling with addiction?”. Through “Dear SAFE”, Alli is able to connect those submitting questions with accurate information on topics that may not always be comfortable to talk about.
The project is anonymous, which allows for answers without fear or judgment and Alli noticed that many of the teens had similar questions, showing a lot of common curiosity. “It is important to make sure these kids feel heard and that they know these are really common questions, and for them to know that it is perfectly safe and OK for them to ask,” she says. “We’d rather have them ask as a preventative measure”.
Alli says it is vital for adolescents to have the information they need to make difficult decisions in the future, especially as high school students. Misinformation, or a lack of information, can be incredibly dangerous, especially to vulnerable populations.
Alli also says the project normalizes the topic of mental illness and substance use in general. When one teen asked if psychedelic mushrooms could help with anxiety, Alli researched the question and found that there isn’t any evidence to support that common belief. She says it’s critical to supply community members with evidence-based answers to questions like these.
Dear SAFE can not only impact those asking the questions, but teachers, parents, and counselors as well. Alli hopes the program can be used as a starting point for conversations that can sometimes feel uncomfortable for parents or educators to initiate. Normalizing topics like mental health and substance use is essential to gaining insight into potential struggles adolescents face.
Thank you Alli for your excellent work and for sharing your thoughts on the Dear SAFE program!