The Answer Has Always Been There

My name is Samuel Carrasco, and I am a 25-year-old Mexican and Black man from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am a fourth-generation agent of change, with a desire to live within the intersection of Christianity, race, and mental health. 

I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for the last three years, and in Portland, Oregon, for the last nine months. Currently, I work at REAP Inc. as the Black Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator, partnering with the Oregon Health Authority and Multnomah County to combat Black youth suicide rates in the state of Oregon. I lead a coalition of nine students, ranging from high school sophomores to juniors in college. Additionally, I coordinate a statewide coalition of eight adults, from faith leaders to state officials. 

Caring for Youth

Mental health and suicide are at the forefront of the minds of many of those engaged with children, students, and youth. One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What can I be doing to better help students/youth?” It gives me hope to see how deeply adults care by proactively addressing these issues on behalf of their loved ones, though it almost makes me feel like I cannot offer enough for what people are asking.

I believe most people understand there is no “magic” formula to help our children. But that doesn’t take away what I feel when the only answer I can offer is “be attentive to the issue, as you are now, and keep them in community with their peers and those who share whatever identity they choose to carry,” and whatever hotline or resources I can scrounge up at the time. 

The hardest part of this work is that, as much as we do to show our children they are loved and wanted, we can never truly know what’s going on in their heads. Our children feel so deeply and know so much about the world around them that it’s often too much for their developing brains to handle. And while we may know and have experienced much more than they have, we cannot process it for them. Children must grow and learn for themselves. As a disclaimer, I am not a parent nor do I have children, but I have three younger siblings and am the oldest of twenty grandchildren. With the deep emotions I feel for them in these times, I can only imagine how a parent feels. It’s difficult, to say the least. 

Trusting God in the Process

The work is tiring and often depressing. Yet God always shows up. As I’ve pondered how to best help students dealing with mental health crises, I think about how God helped me and countless others. I can only imagine what God feels as He’s watched all His children grow up and navigate life, knowing the trials and tribulations we go through. And while He is full of infinite wisdom and can do anything, He still allows us to make our own decisions.

As much as He tries to steer us in the right direction, our sinful nature often pulls us in the wrong direction. He is always there with open arms when we are ready to get it right. I’ll be the first to say I’ve sinned and fallen short, but God has always been there with me; He continues to be. Showering me with love and compassion, for He knows it gets difficult. As God shows His love to me, I try to bring that to those around me.

We don’t know what our children are thinking and how they are processing,  but we do know that we need to be there for them when they fall on hard times. They want to get better and do their best, but life continues to get in the way. 

Our job as caretakers, servant leaders in the community, elders, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, is to teach them the way, be there for them when they fall, and shower them with love.

Prayer

Father God,

I pray for strength and compassion for those in the midst of working with the youth. The work is hard, emotionally draining, and sometimes thankless. Yet You have blessed us to be in the right place at the right time. I pray that You calm our minds, Lord, and give us clarity as we support our youth in these difficult times. While the terminology and science may be new to us, the answer is still the same: radical love. Remind us that when things get difficult, we can look to and lean on You and one another; we are not alone in this work. Remind us that you have already given us the answers to all of life’s difficulties. And remind us that, at the end of the day, Your word is true, and that You have the final say.

Amen

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