Here are more photos from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s second event on Tuesday, the Archewell and Project Healthy Minds’ Inaugural World Mental Health Day Festival. Earlier in the day, they visited the Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, then this, the festival and panel discussion moderated by Carson Daly. H&M were joined by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general. It got emotional very quickly, especially because Archewell invited parents whose children were mercilessly bullied online, sometimes bullied to the point of suicide.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped out in N.Y.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 for their Archewell Foundation’s first in-person event, providing a platform for parents navigating mental health challenges in today’s digital age. The summit featured parents who have experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use. Meghan and Harry have been working with the parents involved in the event behind the scenes, PEOPLE has learned.
“I can’t start without thanking all the parents, the mothers and fathers for being with us physically today, but also being on this journey with us for the last year, creating this community of shared experience,” Harry said after taking the stage with Meghan for the panel. “We know it’s not easy for you guys to be here so thank you very much,” he continued.
Meghan then said: “A year ago we met some of the families, and at the time, it was impossible not to be in tears hearing their stories because it’s just that devastating. As parents, though our kids are really young, 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, but social media isn’t going away and by design, there was an entry post that was supposed to be positive and create community but something has devolved and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.”
Speaking as a father, Harry added: “I think for us, for myself and my wife, with kids growing up in a digital age, the priority here is to again turn pain into purpose and provide as much support as well as a spotlight and a platform for these parents to come together, to heal, to grieve and to also collectively focus on solutions so that no other family anywhere has to go through what they’ve been through.”
At the end of the panel, Daly turned to Meghan and asked: “As a mom of two young kids, after the stories that we heard today from these families that you’ve gotten to know over the past year and the work that Archewell is doing in this space, where is this on the priority list, not as a kick-ass woman, but as a mom? Excuse my French!”
Meghan replied: “Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life — outside, of course, being a wife to this one,” she said, gesturing to Harry. “But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened at how it’s continuing to change and this will be in front of us.”
“They say being a parent, the days are long but the years are short, so it worries me, but I’m also given a lot of hope and energy by the progress we’ve made in the past year being able to have these incredible parents, these survivors of these experiences, share their stories and the more information gathering we’re able to do, the more we can move the needle a little bit,” she continued. “Everyone is affected by the online world and social media. we all just want to feel safe. I’m confident that with more ears and awareness and visibility of what is really happening, we can make some significant change together.”
It was a really substantive conversation, focusing mostly on parents and how difficult it is to really understand how rapidly everything has changed for kids because of social media and online culture. Meghan, Harry and the surgeon general were all quite emotional about it.
It’s amazing that Access Hollywood (of all outlets) put the longest video on YouTube. I also saw that Sky News (a UK outlet) did a damn live-stream of the Sussexes’ event.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Every time I see Meghan I’m mesmerised by her beauty, grace, elegance and style.
I absolutely love her, and I’m not shamed to say it, hahaha :-)))
She looks fabulous
I feel the same. She’s an inspiration.
This is a really important cause- and children’s lives are at stake, and i don’t know what practical solutions there are, it is complex.
But i too am mesmerized by the Duchess’ beauty and style. That outfit is amazing.
I love that every time they do an event and the photos are published, they look healthy and happy and like they are having an amazing time in the moment.
I’m thrilled Harry got them out of the cult. And i am sure he kicks himself like- what took me so long- this is SO MUCH BETTER.
@ariel says:
“I’m thrilled Harry got them out of the cult. And i am sure he kicks himself like- what took me so long……”
Actually, he said as much in the O interview. When O asked him if he had any regrets and he said the one regret he had was that he “hadnt done this 4 years ago.”
Rmbr, the interview was in March 2021 so 4 years prior meant that he was saying he wished that within the first 6 months of meeting M, after realizing that she was “the one,” he wished he had left the cult at that same time, to build their life together.
While I agreed with him at the time and still do, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and our job as humans having this experience called life-on-earth, is to figure out how the experience of a moment and of a time, can be used to propel us to where we want to be.
In other words, I do believe that they needed to get, psychologically, to the point of no return, before they could leave both physically and mentally.
If they had left in 2017, the left-overs would have interfered sooooooo much into their lives. They would have had so many stops and starts, so much confusion.
I recall in Spare where H talked about asking for betty’s permission to marry M and something he said made me so sad for him, in terms of his psychological state at that period in his life.: he was ruminating on what betty’s response would be and wondered if she said “no” if that meant he would have to let go of M.
What made me sad was the fact that it never occurred to him that if betty said “no,” he could simply take that opportunity to leave the cult. It never occurred to him that he could leave.
I do the hand on heart thing, like Harry said, ‘heart attack beautiful’. Sometimes, its an ‘OMG Meghan, seriously. How is THIS much beauty possible?’ Talk about a face card never declining. Breathtaking is a real thing….but I think part of why she looks like this is because there is an inner beauty, dear I say purity of heart, vulnerability, kindness that comes though, people refer to her light. I also think its partly she drops toxic friends, family, etc. You cannot have the light she does when you are steeped in toxicity.
Does anyone know what making mental health – as H&M have – a part of your daily life looks like?
I don’t want journaling or podcasts or anything that feels like a burden or another responsibility.
I want self care and mental health care to be something I can do without guilt. But I don’t know where to start and so many people don’t understand my life.
Personally, for me:
Getting a facial.
Going for walks without others to just be in nature.
Getting off the Internet at least once a week, total blackout, not even YouTube.
Reading a physical book
I have a very stressful life as an actor and small business owner as well as being a caregiver and I try to do all these things at least once a week. It helps.
I love them. They are so genuine and they are doing great supporting various causes. They are very articulate also
I don’t know if any of you follow MattaAFact on TT, but she refused to comment on Wanks mental health day stuff because she quite simply said she couldn’t take it seriously. Apparently, she has been relentlessly bullied by Wanks followers.
To the point where she lost her job at the time, I believe. They really went after her.
The trolls have an issue with her not blindly praising everything, but outside of pointing out hypocrisy about media coverage, she is not even that critical of Wank.
I love her content! She’s actually more than fair in her coverage of the Keens. You can tell the keens aren’t her favorite people in the world but it’s not like she’s mean or bullies them. She just doesn’t buy into their bs.
They also went into angry tizzy when she gave constructive criticism of the Wiglet’s “early years” work, especially that nothing burger op-ed that was published in the Telegraph. I think Amanda has vowed since then to not really give the Wales’ work that much focus since their fans froth at the mouth at the slightest criticism and she recognizes that there isn’t anything substantial about what they do anyway.
Understandable. They remind me of republicans/tories, profoundly unserious people, mean-spirited people.
I’d never heard of her, but it’s not surprising because W&K’s “fans” are vile. What did surprise me is that this woman lost a job over this? WTH?
This is how you discuss mental health and make a contribution to efforts to help young people, Princess Karen.
It really was a good discussion. Difficult at times. My heart aches for the parents. My niblings are aged 2-7 and the 7 year-old is in play and occupational therapy. She has difficulty connecting and making friends. She’s not online yet though. I kind of want to just never let them online which is obviously not realistic.
Jais: Speaking from personal experience as a mom, I just want to say that you’re doing a great job by getting your 7-year-old in play therapy and OT. The friendship thing is so hard … we had some luck with Girl Scouts.
I truly regret letting my kiddo join Facebook and Instagram at age 14 — everyone’s lives look so shiny and bright when they curate what they’re going to post. We had lots of conversations about how life as portrayed on social media is NOT REAL. Those conversations helped. (I also kept a close eye on what was being posted.)
One big problem is that if cruelty takes place online, schools often respond by saying, “Well, it didn’t happen during school hours, so we can’t respond.” Which is B.S. because these kids wouldn’t know each other if not for school.
Right now my 13 year old thinks social media is totally cringe and my fingers are crossed that he doesn’t change his mind about that. He especially hates TikTok, which I’m pretty much addicted to.
I want to share what I did with my kids in the hopes it helps others. When they were young, I gave them a notebook and told them to write questions or tell me things that were bothering them that might be too embarrassing or uncomfortable to say face to face. They could leave the notebook on my pillow and I would answer them or give them ideas to work out any problems. If it needed a face to face conversation, it broke the ice. I would put the notebook on their nightstand with the answer. When they got a bit older, I told them they could come to me with anything but they had to give me time to think about it (or get upset) as they had probably been thinking about it a lot. It really made a difference in our relationships as they felt they could count on me (and their dad) to help them with problems. They also came to us with problems their friend were having so they could be supportive of them. I hope this helps others!
This is so lovely, and I am absolutely borrowing this to use with my 13 year old. Thank you!
Puppy1 – That’s a great suggestion! Unfortunately my kids are adults now…
This is so great, and you sound like a wonderful mom. There is such a fine line between being their friend and their parent, and veering too far into either area can blur the must needed lines, especially in terms of understanding, authority and wisdom. I want my kids to come to me with anything, knowing that I will keep my judgement aside. However, I want them to trust my judgement and advice and that my extra years lived on this earth means I do know so much more and am the wiser for it. I also think it’s healthy and safe for them to keep some things to themselves (as I did as a teen and college student) but I hope I can always see the signs, read the body language, and make myself always available to them.
My kids are the exact same ages as H&M’s and I’m so grateful this is a conversation that is ongoing. I watched the entire video and Dr. Murthy’s insights were just so on pointe. It’s a losing fight if Silicon Valley’s manipulation is just too strong.
But also, I think we just need to raise a generation of better people, in general. People who won’t gather and snicker and bully others online. People who aren’t as “aspirational” and materialistic and all about showing off every tiny accomplishment. People who don’t look for affirmation outside of themselves and the people they respect.
Of course as online commentators, we could probably start there too. Be less catty, less snarky and mean, but being more focused on holding people accountable, while keeping ourselves in check too. I always think, for celebrities and people in the public eye, they HAVE to tune out online or else the hate will get them. The same applies IRL. I hope my kids learn to tune out anything that doesn’t build them up, and that we can all raise strong, kind people with a solid sense of self-worth.
It’s also extra helpful for those of us who have the poker face of a cat who has just seen its mortal enemy. I have laughed inappropriately, cried when I should have kept it together to be the parent in the situation, and yelled, when calmer heads are always needed when dealing with your own kids. I am excellent with other people’s kids, but my own can pull out the wrong reaction from me, in basically any shocking situation.
I know my son is going to really appreciate me giving him a vehicle to say some things, and not be around for my reaction.
This is such a great idea! I wish it would be publicized.
Normally I’d roll my eyes at Sky News’ livestream but I think is a conversation everyone needs to hear so in this case, the more visibility, the better.
Also love, love, LOVE that Archwell is supporting aspiring software engineers! They seem to be tackling the issue of the digital space in multiple areas.
That’s a good point. At least some of the change needs to come from within the industry, so communicate with the rising generation of programmers.
Even the Daily Fail had a piece about how elegant Meghan looked (mentioned several times) and had an extended piece on the substance of the discussion and how emotional it was. This is long term commitment not just showing up and wave jazz hands like (cough) another couple.
OMG! Was the DM actually, dare I say it, impressed? The tide is slowly turning I do believe. The royalists are beginning to understand that they are stuck with the duds while the stars have escaped.
I watched the SkyNews stream on YouTube and Wow! They all made such great points and one could really feel the emotion, the fear that they have about bringing up children in this digital age. The Surgeon General stated some horrific stats about teenage mental health and social media, it made me angry and sad, so sad thinking about what society is doing to our children, to ourselves. Honestly, listening to this conversation has made me sit back and think about the content I look at and how much negativity I take in during the day, I will be making some real and concrete changes to my internet habits.
Skynews did a live stream?! On a couple who Brit tabloids say are irrelevent, on a woman they have nonstop criticized and scorned. Yet they can’t help but film and report on compulsively.
Although I find it hard to believe but maybe, for once, they were capable of seeing the bigger picture.
Yes sometimes Sky News will have the best Sussex video coverage IMHO. As far as print coverage of this, my preference is Axios which didn’t mention Willy or Kitty once. Other publications had decent coverage, but felt some weird need to have the estranged W&K inserted in a middle paragraph about their performative mental health walkabouts. Having zero interest in w&k, I’ve started subtracting them from online searches and clicking out immediately if I see their names.
such a powerful conversation.
It’s hard to know how to handle social media for kids. I have social media, but I have a good handle on it for myself. I know I can just…..walk away….from comments that enrage me, or if I’m in a back and forth that no longer feels productive (I do the same on here relatively frequently to be honest.) I block or defriend people who just aggravate me. If I don’t get anything positive from a social media relationship, I block or defriend. It’s not in a hate filled rage that I do that, I just literally think “what am I getting out of this?”
But I am 41. I didn’t have social media until I was out of college. It wasnt part of my social life growing up the way it is for kids these days. I mean I still have good friends who dont use any type of social media. But I feel like its harder for kids to just not ever use it.
My oldest has a phone, he’s 11, but he hasn’t asked for any social media yet. I know that in his middle school snap chat is the big thing but I’m hoping I can put that off as long as possible, because I feel that’s hard to monitor. Right now its just lots of text changes, and I check them frequently, make sure I know who he is talking to, etc. but I know I can only do that for so long.
Her discussion during the panel questions was most inspired. Social media can be a miserable place for adults but most especially children. After all she has and is going through because of it she still brings positivity and hope even though it is a really negative place and it can leave you feeling hopeless. She is truly looking out for her children and other’s children in trying to find a solution. She didn’t lay down and die she picked herself up and is doing all she can for change. She truly is amazing!
^^ Totally @Susan Collins. For me, what you have expressed about Meg’s perseverance, is an important aspect of all that the Sussexes are doing. They are making sure to get the help and support they need to stay sane, productive, present in their lives, and the absolute best they can be for their children and for themselves. 🫶🏽 💪🏽
Meghan and Harry are always hard at work trying to turn pain into purpose and redemptive possibility. They are such great role models. At the same time, I recognize they are not perfect, but they have never professed to be shiny and perfect. There is a lot I’m sure they deal with daily BTS, in navigating their lives. Obviously, their talent and hard work has given them wealth and status, which brings good things, along with challenging obstacles.
BTW, it is not Harry’s born royal status, in the end, that makes him special. It is his innate charm and his leadership skills, combined with his steadfast courage in overcoming adversity. Quite the same for Meghan, particularly with what she has endured after becoming globally revered and reviled for marrying Harry.
The key to the Sussexes’ success, I think, is that they have always remained open to assessing and to improving themselves. Plus, they both naturally care about helping others, which is a huge reason why their lives intersected, so fatefully and beautifully. Love is their blessing and their motto. Thereby, winning in the marathon of life, is their victory. ✊🏽💗
This event was so well put together – the set decor, the moderator, this important topic, etc. – and Meghan looks absolutely incredible! I love her outfit and Harry was looking sharp too. America Looks Great on Them!
Sadly, this topic is probably very relevant to H&M. You know that the same sick people who are determined to hate on them will bully their children on-line for messing up the “royal bloodline”.
they’re certainly not alone. it’s scary as parents. I’m not at the age where I have children old enough to be entrenched in social media, but I have friends who do. And it is really hard to navigate as you want to keep the exposure to a minimum, but at a certain age if they don’t join the popular social media apps they are considered outsiders. I’m genuinely curious, are Meghan and Harry through Archwell offering resources for parents? or Project Healthy minds? I took a brief look at the website but hadn’t seen any resources for parents on this subject. It’s great they are having a dialogue about it, but I think some action items and resources (if it’s not there already) in the future would be impactful.
Agreed. You just can’t reach a good amount of parents with live events. I don’t have time right now to watch the live-stream or the recording, and I haven’t seen any summaries of the takeaways. I’d like a brief report!
I haven’t been to their site but if they don’t, I hope they add some resources or link other orgs that offer support!
Aren’t Harry and Meghan irrelevant? Why is Sky News livestreaming the event?
J’ai été infiniment émue par toute cette discussion que la DUCHESSE meghan, le DUC DE SUSSEX , le chirurgien AMÉRICAIN sans oublier les parents ont eu hier parce que je suis moi-même parent d’un adolescent de 14 ans .
Et le harcèlement scolaire est devenue un sujet central en France âpres plusieurs suicide d’enfants dernièrement.
Je suis vraiment contente qu’ils apportent de la visibilité sur ce sujet très grave.
On voit qu’ils sont vraiment investis et que c’est pas juste pour faire des photos.
Et le fait que la duchesse soit absolument SUBLIME ne gâche rien.
Elle n’as besoin de rien pour briller.
Elle brille littéralement.
Et le duc , mon dieu : quel prestance.
La famille royale a perdue gros .
I like the fact that they focused on other peoples problems and involved real people in telling their story. Social media has taken over our lives but for some stops being fun and can have real consequences as shown. Someone has to discuss this things and try to act
Vraiment.
I have so much admiration for Harry and Meghan, and the work that they do. I am sure they avoid social media due to the unbelievable amount of hatred and vitriol directed at them. Still as a human being, how can you not be impacted, how can your mental health not suffer knowing there are those amoungst us who gleefully strip you of your humanity and cruelly abuse you, all while using your name and image to line their greedy pockets. That knowledge alone would break most people.
Harry and Meghan have an intimate and painful understanding of what it means to be victims of a targeted social media hate campaign. Yet their focus isn’t on their own victimhood (a position that I would understand and support), instead they use their immense privilege and position to give a voice to those who would otherwise remain voiceless. I am so glad they found each other. May their light continue to shine brightly onto others.
BTW that suit top, in that color is literally style goals. Meghan is in a league of her own. Just chef’s kiss!
The harm of social media on young kids is real. It honestly makes me glad I don’t have children. It’s so scary what they are exposed to. My 11 year old niece was asked by a 12 year old for nudes and then told to kill herself when she freaked out (they were on Snapchat). My coworker’s daughter was 16 and had a guy take her Snap and edit her face over a naked body and send it to people at school. My other co-worker’s son had a friend be bullied to the point of suicide at 14.
It’s not just SM, it’s how children are still being raised to bully others into submission. SM is just another tool at their disposal. If parents do not educate their children, if they don’t sit them down and talk about difficult things like consent, respect, body autonomy, etc, then this will keep happening once new technology and medium emerges.
Agreed.
I don’t have kids (yet) but knowing how easy it is to get caught up in media frenzies, hate campaigns and disinformation, it’s one of the many things that scares me about what the future generations will have to face. There are very few, if any, laws in place that can keep pace with the evolution of the internet to protect the most vulnerable of its users.
My heart goes out to anyone who’s experienced even a shade of the cruelties enacted by others online. I’m grateful that people like Harry and Meghan, who get hate even in the video attached to this article, continue to believe the good in people and are striving to find solutions, and leave the space better than how they found it.
Meghan is so articulate and well prepared. Do not need any paper or rehearsed lines to give an impactful speech abut the subject. She read the room and delivered. Can’t help but be mesmerized by her confidence and aura. And wow! She is stunningly beautiful! I’d wear the hell out of that pants. Cant believe its sold out already! Well yes i can. It is Meghan after all.
And daily fail if i had sculpted shoulders like hers i’d bare it too. Stew in that jealousy. Going on about the cost of what she wears and the drop of her necklines. Everything she has is hers. Even when she was part of the firm. The pettiness!
What strikes me about this issue for them is they have a very real reason to worry about their children being bullied online. This isn’t a case of their children will be protected by wealth. Their children will be considered newsworthy and their children’s peers will see any and all news about them. Harry knows all too well having one’s personal details constantly made public, long before social media existed.
THIS is how you discus mental health and the damage that is done by the media in ALL its forms. Young minds are like sponges and we really must do all we can to stop the wrong kind of rhetoric and pure evil soaked up by them.
Harry and Megan, know first hand the strain that can be put on, not just you as a person, but those who love and care about you when evil is allowed to run riot on the Internet! I love how they have been working away for over a year and that they are both so heavily commited to this cause, and I’m sure that the families really appreciate all they have done and ARE doing. To have the daily torrent of abuse thrown at them, but still put their hearts into helping others out of the darkness, shows how genuine they are.
What the hell did the UK do in driving them away? It was surely an act of self destruction for a country that is sinking under the weight of hatred that has been allowed to fester over here. Thank you Harry and Megan for showing how it should be done, others are left looking like try hards
@Bettyrose, exactly lovey, and if I were Harry or Megan I would be petrified for my children as well.
This is briliant. If you are going to focus on us– then pay attention to our causes. It’s very Princess Diana. The more attention this gets the better. I have teenage girls and the current social media landscape scares the crap out of me- its constant vigilance. More needs to be done to protect our children. The algorithms are dangerous to adults – but to children, it clearly can have devastating consequences.
The Sussexes went to New York to do two events with organizations and people they have supported and worked with. That is why their work and appearances make an impact. It is really interesting to see how they work as a team.
I love that quote from Meghan about how if there’s going to be focus on them then focus on what they’re focusing on. She’s always had a really good understanding about how to use her platform to focus on important issues even before she met Harry and now obviously with him the platform is even bigger and I think they’re doing a good job of figuring out how to best use that platform post all that mess on that island.
I dont have kids but i can imagine it’s really daunting to keep kids safe on the internet these days. For me as an adult i can find it draining and at times bad for my mental health- just think of the negative affects it can have on young minds! It’s so sad these parents have had to deal with such grief but I’m glad Archewell is giving them a space where they can connect with others with similar experiences and hopefully make some positive change that can spare other parents from dealing with what they’ve had to go through.
These were powerful conversations. My heart goes out to the families for the loss they’ve suffered and I felt hopeful when Meghan spoke about how safety in cars improved once people started dying. I hope the same for social media.
On a more petty note the clothes you wear aren’t a distraction when you have some something of substance to say.
This is both hilarious and sad/pathetic but then I realize, of course they would live stream H&M’s work because there are substantive and informative issues being discussed. Now to be ‘fair’ to them, this not really why they did this, its because they need the viewership; they are addicted to H&M and cannot quit them; and they are sadists who like self-inflicted pain of constantly looking at what they threw away. Imagine the recriminations in the quiet of the night? Schadenfreude.
My kids are in their late 20s… one of the things they have learned to do… the hard way often… is to turn their phones/iPads off when they’re struggling mentally. And of course they know that people’s instagram posts are curated to show the best and never the whole reality, but when you’re struggling it is hard to remember that. We all know from the hate we see about Meghan how evil social media and paid Bots can be. I am so glad I am old and didn’t have to deal with any of this when I was young, overweight and insecure..I really hope H&M don’t look at social media, the hatred for them on there is really troubling.
On a different note I love how confident Meghan is as a public speaker, and I love that Harry has clearly asked her to help him – he is so much better at this now, although still not as confident as she is. It makes you wonder how much better Kate would be if she had taken the time early on in her marriage to get professional help with public speaking.
I grew up with a very stylish mother, for whom Color Me Beautiful (the booklet that divided people into 4 ‘seasons’, based on one’s coloring, that determined what colors were most flattering for you) was to be obeyed at all times. My mother is an Autumn, with deep tawny skin, amber-hazel eyes, and dark brown hair. Because Color Me Beautiful says she can’t wear blue, she absolutely refuses. I have been trying for YEARS to get her to try out a deep navy that I know would look gorgeous.
Anyway, my point is that I remember CMB saying that people with olive skin or darker can “carry” more makeup that those with more fair skin, without looking like one is wearing too much. I think Kate’s heavy makeup yesterday, vs. Meghans makeup here, exemplifies that perfectly.
I’m glad that the Sussexes respect their children’s privacy to the extent that they are rarely seen by the media. They are such loving, thoughtful parents.
That forum was excellent. Meghan is always prepared to deliver to her audience. Harry, who always speaks from the heart, is much more relaxed. I love this couple because they are working diligently behind the scenes. They’ve surrounded themselves with loyal, intelligent staff and have made meaningful connections.
I love this couple and pray they are forever surrounded by light, love, goodness, and mercy.
The Good Morning America host, Daly, did a great job. He called Meghan a “kick-ass woman,”
and that she is. The toothless King will never admit he made a mistake, but he did.
As with the Waleses, discussion is great, but, I think, what helps most to move the needle forward is actionable advice, ie, solutions. What can people who get the press coverage of this event take away, for their own lives?
The bullying that kids experience online, on social networks, is an outgrowth of the bullying they experience in real life; and the unresponsiveness of the authorities (governments, corporations, etc.) to protect them from bullying online is a mirror of the failure of authorities (schools, parents, etc.) to protect them from bullying IRL.
How do we bridge those gaps? How do we make the existing infrastructure responsive to kids’ needs? How do we empower parents to protect their children? We need to demand more and better accountability from our governments and school systems. We need to teach parents, too. We need to teach them how to spot signs of danger and how to be safe places for their children. Puppy1 had a terrific post, above, with a concrete example of how she does that, with her own kids.
And we need to teach and fortify our children. We need to teach them that bullying is unacceptable; we need to teach them to look out for each other and to speak up, if they see it. But they need safe places to do that. Those in positions of authority have to be willing or compelled to do something, in response to reports of bullying. It’s up to the rest of us to make that happen.
@Bisynaptic: “As with the Waleses, discussion is great, but, I think, what helps most to move the needle forward is actionable advice, ie, solutions.”
This Archewell conference and panel discussion is nowhere near “as with the Waleses.” There is no valid comparison or similarity between what H&M are actively accomplishing and what W&K play at for p.r. and photo-ops.
What H&M are in the process of doing is bringing awareness, fostering community and supportive engagement, so that viable solutions can be achieved, together, amongst all of us who truly care and who believe in effecting positive change.
The very fact that deep and sincere conversations were sparked in this thread, is a testament to the constant hard work and positivity H&M bring to the complex issues they have joined with others to tackle. They have been working and preparing well in advance for this conference, and their work is constant BTS. They spoke about solutions and further engagement during the panel discussion.
Very much NOT the same for the other couple you mention, who show up with jazz hands, hyena gawping, strained grimaces, and awkward glances. Nothing that W&K did or said at their Mental Health day event, nets any productive engagement or inspired solutions.
True