If you have a teenager in your life and you've felt them pull away from conversations you used to have easily, this episode is for you. Kathy Saulitis has spent three years going through what young people write and create when nobody is grading it: the poems, drawings, essays, and songs submitted to #CreateConnectCare, a youth mental health initiative that collected over 3,000 submissions this year from young people in all 50 states and 15 countries. She's seen the repeating themes. She has also thought a lot about what parents can actually do, and she's direct about it. Lilly Kacziba is 17, from Queens, New York, one of fewer than 20 teenagers chosen this year for the program's National Mental Health Youth Council. She explains, from her own experience, why teenagers go quiet and shut down... and it's not because they don't want to talk. We are honored to release this Guest Interview on the eve of World Mental Health Day. Kathy Saulitis Senior Advisor to the CEO, Chief of Staff & Marketing Lead, Creative Visions Director, #CreateConnectCare Creative Visions is a Malibu-based nonprofit and United Nations NGO, founded over 25 years ago by Kathy Eldon and Amy Eldon in honor of Dan Eldon, a Reuters photojournalist killed in Somalia in 1993. The organization supports creative activists working across documentary, music, poetry, advocacy, and youth change-making. Website: createconnectcare.org Instagram: @CreateConnectCare Lilly Kacziba Student, Archbishop Molloy High School, Queens, New York (class of 2027) National Mental Health Youth Council, #CreateConnectCare (2026 cohort) One of fewer than 20 teenagers selected nationally; the only representative from New York. Since December 2025, Lilly has run seven peer mental health workshops at her school (three in-person, four online), open to any student at any skill level. GET INVOLVED WITH #CREATECONNECTCARE Website: createconnectcare.org Browse the full gallery and this year's award-winning work Read the poem "No Es Ilegal" and watch the dance performance for the Behind the Mask project Download the Teen Mental Wellness Day activity guide (March 2nd) — the program's most-downloaded resource, written by youth council members Find classroom resources and suggested projects for educators For young people (ages 11–18): Try the Behind the Mask project anytime: one side shows what you let others see, the other shows what you keep hidden. Save it for the submission window. Submission portal opens: January 5, 2027 Submission portal closes: March 31, 2027 Awards announced in May, before end of school year Coming May 2027: Stressolescence — a PBS documentary about stress and adolescence, featuring #CreateConnectCare and former youth council member Ryan. MUSIC CREDITS This episode features two original songs submitted to the 2026 #CreateConnectCare challenge: "Grow" — written and performed by Rayn S. "Worn" — written and performed by Merissa M. Both are award-winning submissions. The full gallery is at createconnectcare.org. CRISIS RESOURCES In the United States: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (free, 24/7, English and Spanish) Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 (free, 24/7) International: findahelpline.com — directory of crisis lines in countries around the world befrienders.org — emotional support centers in more than 50 countries If someone is in immediate danger, call local emergency services. Transcript link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/?p=1423087 If you have questions, comments, feedback, suggestions, or just want to say hi, send a message to: podcast@optimistdaily.com. Want to be part of the Optimism Movement? Become an Emissary. Subscribe to our FREE Daily/Weekly Newsletter and follow us on Instagram, X, and Blue Sky. The Optimist Daily is a project of the World Business Academy. Donate link: https://www.optimistdaily.com/donate-to-support-the-optimist-daily/?gift=Y%20http:// Theme and all other original music by Marvin Lanes
