Posts by Jake Cavanaugh
Tragedy and Hope at Lowell High School
By Sarah Dickie We put our whole hearts into everything we do here in the NAN Project, but our presentations at Lowell High School in January were especially important to us. Last fall, LHS sophomore Anna Aslanian ended her life, leaving friends, family, and faculty to wonder what they could have done to prevent it.…
Read MoreA Look Inside The NAN Project: What is a “Coaching Day?”
All of The NAN Project’s Peer Mentors (PMs) must complete a four day training before being certified to go out and work in the schools and communities we serve; but their coaching is far from over! The NAN Project frequently holds Coaching Days — a paid opportunity for any of our PMs to update their comeback stories,…
Read MoreAutumn in Review 2018
Autumn in Review Fall is in the air, and it’s turned out to be a very busy one! Over the past few months, we have had the opportunity to train two separate groups of New Peer Mentors, give several presentations to various schools across the Commonwealth, and had the opportunity to train a group of mental health…
Read MoreJade Turner- Peer Mentor Spotlight
Jade came on board with us in April of this year, and since graduating our training has proved to be a superstar! This 18 year old Boston native tells an amazing story of resilience through her struggles with mental illness, assault, and how she powered through it all to better herself. We had the time…
Read MoreSummer Time Recap
Summertime is here, and school’s out on vacation. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been keeping busy! 6/4- We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to a group of students from The Phoenix Academy in Lawrence and have our Peer Mentors share their Comeback Stories. We then led a discussion about the different warning signs…
Read MoreSenior Peer Mentor Training Camp ’18
On July 19th, The NAN Project kicked off its first Senior Peer Mentor Training Camp, a 6-week course for those who have already taken our initial Peer Mentor Training, and want to expand their skills to better help others. Over six classes, our team will learn new information about mental health, practice suicide prevention skills, pick…
Read MoreIyanna “Ziona” Rivera – Peer Mentor Spotlight
For this edition of our Peer Mentor Spotlight, we sat down with Iyanna “Ziona” Rivera, or Z for short, to discuss some of the impressive things she has been up to. Z first came on board with The NAN Project during our training at STEPS in Arlington. Ziona has helped out during school presentations, been an active contributor…
Read MoreElli Peltola – Peer Mentor Spotlight
We want to acknowledge some amazing work that’s been done by one of our rising Peer Mentor stars! Elli Peltola is a dedicated, and enthusiastic young woman. She has been working with us for some time now, and tells a wonderful story of her battle with self-harm and how she learned to love herself. We had…
Read MoreRidha Abidshah – Peer Mentor Spotlight
Hello all, my name is Ridha Abidshah, and I am a 23 year old Peer Mentor for The NAN Project. Through the GIFT Training, (Gathering, Inspiring, Future, Talent) I first learned about The NAN Project. To me The Nan Project is a place where I found hope and purpose. This is where I was told,…
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