South Bay Families Connected and Freedom4U hosts The State of Our Families

By Claire DuMont

Staff Writer

South Bay Families Connected and Freedom4U hosted the first annual The State of Our Families presentation on May 11 at the Manhattan Beach Library to inform the community of the current stresses facing teenagers and families.

Freedom4U is an organization that focuses on providing teenagers with an opportunity to find their passions and learn leadership skills through seminars and events. South Bay Families Connected supports families to maintain healthy lifestyles for their children.

“Overall, the night was a success,” Freedom4U director Dr. Greg Allen said. “The parents were able to come and share their experiences about their situations with their own teenagers and they were given some suggestions on how they can fix the situation to improve the lives of their teenagers.”

The event consisted of a presentation by Allen covering topics such as the over scheduling of teenagers and how pressures to succeed can connect to depression and substance abuse. He also covered how parents can help their teenagers in these situations. While Allen was the only speaker, attendees contributed to the discussion by offering their experiences and viewpoints throughout the evening.

“I hoped that they [attendees] would be willing to simplify their lifestyles, and that they would prioritize their schedules so they can enjoy life more, are doing less, and care more about their emotional & mental health than achieving,” Allen said.

Allen was the only speaker at the presentation, however many other therapists from around the South Bay that work with teenagers were in attendance to offer their experience and advice. Kryss Castle, a therapist that works with teenagers and their families in the South Bay was one of the professionals that attended the presentation.

“Freedom4U tries to have these presentations many times a year to give parents a chance to come together and find out how to solve the problems that their teens are facing,” Castle said. “It allows them to know that they are not alone and others are facing the same issues.

In his presentation, Allen spoke about the different pressures that teenagers face and the progression from these pressures to substance abuse, depression and anxiety. Attendees shared their ideas and experiences and were offered solutions on how they can improve the lives of their teenagers.

“The goal of the event was to inform the community, parents and professional on what the current stressors are and solutions to help families live a happier, healthier life,” Allen said.

South Bay Families Connected and Freedom4U hosted a State of Our Teens panel in October that focused specifically on the issues that teenagers face and how to solve them in their daily lives. The State of Our Families expanded on this idea and focused on how these issues affect the families.

“If we don’t learn how to enjoy each other in a healthy way, in the moment, we will be lost to the ‘desire to get more’ more of anything and everything but ultimately feel that our lives are meaningless and empty,” Allen said.