66 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 THEJEWISHNEWS.COM

Jews in the D

Fact-Finding Mission

UMatter Teens take to the road to learn 
about mental health issues.

T

he UMatter Teen Fact- 
Finding Mission, an 
interactive, three-day 
educational trip that took place 
Aug. 12-14, provided Jewish 
teenagers the chance to learn 
the scope of the mental health 
epidemic in their community. 
The goals were to recog-
nize the problem, 
spur the conversation 
about mental health 
and empower teens 
to work together to 
develop solutions. 
 The first day was 
spent in Pontiac, hear-
ing from Common 
Ground, the Youth 
Suicide Prevention 
Task Force of Oakland 
County, Oakland 
Community Health Network 
and Oakland County Jail. 
“Our last stop of the day 
was Oakland County Jail,” 
teen Ellie Friedman said. 
“While it was certainly an 
emotional and difficult expe-
rience for a lot of us, it was 
necessary to see this often-for-
gotten aspect of mental health 
before embarking on the next 
two solution-focused days.” 
On day two, the teens 
traveled to Ann Arbor and 
Ypsilanti where they learned 
about Dawn Farm, the U-M 
Depression Center, psychiatric 
emergency services and Ele’
s 
Place. While many area organi-
zations are working to increase 
mental health care, Friedman 
said, “there just aren’
t enough 
spaces or resources to fully 
meet the demand, which is an 
important consideration for us 
when we work on initiatives 
this year.” 
The teens were motivated 
to take what they learned from 
these organizations to help 
increase the impact of their 

own UMatter programming. 
The last day was spent in 
Southfield and Detroit visiting 
Lighthouse/South Oakland 
Shelter, Kadima and Wayne 
State CHAMPS. After seeing 
the root of the problem at 
Oakland County Jail on day 
one and seeing some options 

for solutions on day two, hear-
ing from different residential 
programs on day three opened 
the teens’
 eyes to the variety of 
solutions that help address aea 
mental health challenges. 
Debby Suris attended the 
UMatter Teen Fact Finding 
Mission as her daughter’
s chap-
erone. She was moved by the 
teens on this trip. “I was so 
impressed by their intelligence, 
curiosity and compassion,” she 
said. “I was deeply impacted by 
the teens that participated in 
this mission, as I watched them 
learn firsthand about serious 
and tragic human issues. 
“I also watched them realize 
the enormous humanity that 
exists in our communities to 
change people’
s lives, and that 
their own potential to make a 
difference is infinite.” 
Friendship Circle will 
be offering a Parent Fact-
Finding Mission in 2020. 
This trip was aided by 
the Stephen H. Schulman 
Millennium Fund. 

AMANDA SMITH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

COURTESY OF UMATTER

Teens hear from Oakland County Youth 
Suicide Prevention Task Force.

36 Under 36 
Nominations 
Now Open

Do you know someone making an 
impact in the community you can 
nominate for this special honor?

Th
 e Well, an organization building inclusive Jewish 
community in Metro Detroit for the under-40 crowd, 
and the Jewish News are once again partnering on “36 
Under 36” to recognize doers, activists, entrepreneurs, 
philanthropists, community organizers and other 
young Jewish professionals reshaping and broadening 
Metro Detroit’
s Jewish community. 
“In short,” Rabbi Dan Horwitz of Th
 e Well said, 
“we are looking for the people who give of themselves 
to the community in robust — and often thankless 
— ways. In essence, the kinds of people we admire 
and aspire to be, whose accomplishments we want to 
celebrate and who we want the world to know make 
their home in Metro Detroit.”
Nominations are due by 
Oct. 30. A special group of 
nine volunteer judges (none 
of whom are affi
 liated with 
Th
 e Well or the JN) will be 
reviewing submissions and 
choosing the 36 winners. 
Honorees will receive free 
three-year subscriptions to 
the JN and be featured in a 
February 2020 issue. 

To nominate someone,
 log on to tiny.cc/36under36.

thirty
six

UNDER
36

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