“It’s definitely not easy being a Jewish teen these days,” says Theo Bernstein, a junior at a New York City high school.
Theo would know better than other 16-year-olds — he’s also an advisory board member of HereNow, a teen-led mental health initiative run by our partner Jewish Board and supported by UJA. It’s empowering young people to support one another at a time when the need has never been greater.
As May Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us, 1 in 6 young people experience a mental health condition at any given time. But teens themselves are often the first to notice when something isn’t right among their peers. And their voices can be especially powerful in breaking the stigma.
Enter HereNow, which was officially launched in 2016 after UJA commissioned a study on teen mental health that underscored the need for teen-centric support.
For Liana, 17, joining the advisory board last year was initially a question of time. “I wasn’t sure how I’d balance it with my schoolwork,” she says. “But being involved exceeded all my expectations and made the struggle worth it.”
Since then, she’s helped shape major initiatives, from planning a well-attended Hanukkah event to interviewing actor Ari’el Stachel about his experience with OCD and mental health as seen in his off-Broadway show Other. But what’s stayed with Liana most is what she’s learned from her peers.
“It’s eye-opening,” she says. “Some people step away from social media entirely to protect their mental health. Others find benefit to it. There’s no one right way — it’s about finding what works for you.”
For Theo, this work is deeply personal. After years of navigating his father’s cancer diagnosis, he saw firsthand how isolating mental health struggles can be.
“I wanted to help reduce the stigma,” he says.
Through HereNow, he’s spoken on panels, created lessons for younger students, and helped normalize conversations around mental health in Jewish spaces. One of his most meaningful experiences has been participating in a teen giving circle, where he helped direct funding to mental health programs.
“It was illuminating to see how support actually reaches people,” he says.
Charlotte Zlotnick, 16, from New Jersey, was drawn to HereNow through her strong connection to both Jewish life and mental health advocacy. What resonated most for her was the integration of Jewish values into these conversations.
“It helped me connect what I’m learning to my own life,” she says. “There’s a real link to tikkun olam and using what we learn to help others.”
She’s already putting that into action, leading workshops for younger students on managing stress and building healthy coping skills and writing articles for HereNow’s website.
