Wellness Summit Explores Common Dilemmas Facing Parents, Youth

Steroid use, depression, online gaming, bullying and talking to kids about sex were just a few of the topics that drew parents and students alike to Sunday afternoon for the first Wayland Wellness Summit.

The summit, co-sponsored by WaylandCares and the Friends of Wayland Youth and Family Services, was designed to address, in a single program, the wide range of issues that impact a diverse group of students and parents in Wayland, explained Betsy Meindl, program coordinator of WaylandCares.

"We wanted to come together as a community to learn from a speaker and talk to each other," Meindl said.

Psychologist Rob Evans, executive director of The Human Relations Service in Wellesley, told the audience during his introductory keynote address that he doesn't view Wayland as an unhealthy community, but that doesn't mean there aren't discussions to have and opportunities to improve.

"These [the topics] are things people are worried about all over the place," Evans said.

"All of us who are older, we remember what it was like to be your age," Evans told the students in attendance. However, "We don't know altogether what it's like to be your age now. That's what an afternoon like this is all about."

Evans explained that he viewed the Wellness Summit as an opportunity to examine and address dilemmas, not a time that would completely fix problems.

"It's a chance to do a lot of exploring," he said. "It is not that we will have fixed problems, but we will have explored dilemmas."

Exploring a variety of possible responses was exactly what a group of students did during a session with Urban Improv, a Boston-based theatrical group that engaged students in a performance and role-playing exercise related to bullying and cyberbullying.

"Are you going to just stand by?" the Urban Improv group sang before launching into a performance that depicted the negative implications when a video message meant to be private becomes a viral hit.

Students in the audience helped the actors decide whether to confront the bully, talk to a guidance counselor or take another approach.

The Urban Improv performance was one option of about 20 possible seminars spread out over three sessions during the 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wellness Summit.

Meindl said she was especially interested to read the session evaluations requested of participants, which would help determine whether to offer similar sessions at a possible future Wellness Summit.