The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. WCAX was not involved in the reporting or editing of this story.
BURLINGTON, Vt. (Community News Service) – A third of Vermont high schoolers described recently struggling with mental health when they answered the state’s latest survey of youth risk behavior in 2023.
The results of that survey, released this past November, have spurred worries that young people aren’t doing much better than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mental health was generally agreed to have taken a hit.
Those in crisis have plenty of options for help: the national suicide and crisis lifeline, 988; the state’s regional mental health agencies; a Vermont crisis text line. But what about youth who might just need a space to interact with peers, participate in soothing activities and have a trusted place to blow off steam?
Such resources aren’t as few and far between as they might seem — you just need to know where to look for them.
The Basement Teen Center in Montpelier offers older kids a place to relax, play games, get homework done, have a snack or use the internet, all at no cost. The center was founded in 1990 when local officials noticed kids loitering aimlessly around the steps of City Hall, said Robert Morgan, center director since February 2021.
The city put funding into providing an organized space for youth to safely hang out, and the center was born, occupying a space in the basement of City Hall until the July 2024 floods. It’s run by Elevate Youth Services, previously known as Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys and Girls Club.
“It’s a drop-in space. We do ukulele lessons where we’ll get like three kids that’ll come out, and they’ll come to all six lessons,” Morgan said. “We’ll do art programs like, ‘Come learn woodblock making,’ or linoleum cuts, or something. But then the next day, when we’re not doing the projects, two kids will come and say, ‘Hey, I would like to try that thing you did. I mean, it’s really loosey-goosey.”
Every Friday, teens and center staff can cook dinners together, and you can often find organized meetings for activities like Dungeons and Dragons.
The center welcomes a mishmash of participants:
“Some are really popular and really busy and have a lot of stuff going on. They stop in and say hi to friends and then they flit on their way. We have other kids that really have seemingly not very many social skills or social outlets,” Morgan said.
“And I think even for the kids that are sitting there just playing on the computer, they would be doing the same at home. But here they’re having little bits of conversation. They are interacting with other kids. They’re getting over a little bit of their fear of being in social spaces.”
It is in the space, separate from home or school life, that center leaders hope these kids and teens are able to be themselves and find a healthy role model for social interaction and self-sufficient behavior.
“It’s like a sandbox,” Morgan said. “There’s a little bit for whatever kids want to make of it.”
One participant, whose anonymous testimonial Morgan shared, called the center their favorite place.
“I rarely attend school anymore, but I’m sure I’ll always come down to the BTC,” they wrote.
Alternatively, in a library about 45 miles northwest on a recent Friday, Natasha Komarov and her 6-year-old Leonberger, Vasya, made their rounds offering opportunities for pets and cuddles. Vasya, a registered therapy dog, was there in hopes of brightening library-goers’ chilly mornings.
Mary Danko, director of the Fletcher Free Library in downtown Burlington, contacted Therapy Dogs of Vermont about nine months ago, hoping to be connected with a dog and handler duo that could offer services to the public on a regular basis.
Vasya had to go through training with Therapy Dogs of Vermont to get registered. After passing a reactivity test in May 2023, in which she was tempted with other dogs and a bowl of pepperoni, Vasya got to don her official bandana and nametag, Komarov said. Ever since, she has been sharing her soothing presence with residents of Elderwood at Burlington nursing home, patients at the Howard Center Mental Health Urgent Care and most recently patrons at the Fletcher.
Though Vasya and Komarov typically avoid the library’s youth reading room in caution of potential allergies, Komarov points out that those who take her up on Vasya’s services range from curious toddlers to young adults who might be missing their dogs from home.
Interacting with a certified therapy dog can lower the stress hormone cortisol and enhance the body’s release of oxytocin, a natural stress reduction chemical, according to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, a large nationwide organization that certifies therapy dogs. It can also lower blood pressure, decrease hyperactivity or aggressiveness (especially in kids) and enhance desire for social connection, the group says.
“It seems like people are comforted by her often, so I thought we could be a good resource,” said Komarov, adding later, “She definitely makes me feel mentally healthy.”
On that recent visit to the Fletcher, Vasya strolled around the library as teens, kids and young adults flocked to her, approaching gently and curiously and leaving with smiles.
Danko, the library director, recalled patrons phoning afterward to report their satisfaction with their visit with Vasya, with one elderly couple mentioning their grandkids especially loved it, she said.
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