- More than 300 North Omaha teens attended workshops at UNMC designed to help them identify and process emotions they often keep hidden.
- Ta'Miyah Wright said young people had recently spoken with city leaders about gaps in mental health resources — and felt this event was a direct response to that conversation.
- Sessions covered everything from mask decorating and resilience to hands-on wound care and disease prevention, giving teens practical tools for their health and future.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
More than 300 Omaha teenagers gathered at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for a day of learning, leadership, and life skills hosted by the North Omaha Community Care Council.
Teens chose three sessions based on their interests, covering topics ranging from mental health to hands-on medical training.
One workshop, led by Buffy Bush with Families of the Stolen, focused on mask decorating — an activity designed to help teens explore the emotions they often hide.
"This color here stood for joy. That color stands for calmness. That purple represented some type of a fear or anxiety, and the blue represented some kind of a sadness," Bush said.
For Ta'Miyah Wright, the workshop carried personal significance. She recently spoke with city leaders about the need for more mental health resources for young people.
"I feel like it's really good. I feel like... Cause I know the past Sunday, we talked about how our mental health gets overlooked. So this event coming up so fast, it actually showed that they took what we said and put it into action," Wright said.
Teens also gained hands-on experience with life-saving skills, including basic wound care and interactive lessons demonstrating how quickly diseases can spread through bodily fluids.
One session every student was required to attend focused on resilience.
"Just so that people would understand their aspirations and to strive for it," Portia Cavitt of the North Omaha Community Care Council said.
Wright said the resilience session stood out to her as well.
"I really liked that one. I like how they point out, um, Lens Tamera, which, um, taking in not just your surroundings, but looking at yourself to annoying how to regulate your emotions in certain situations," Wright said.
Organizers said they hope teens leave with the confidence and resources to build a healthier future.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
