Saratogian Article by Lauren Halligan

Article as published by The Saratogian by Lauren Halligan lhalligan@digitalfirstmedia.com @LaurenTheRecord on Twitter

Former teacher, coach in Saratoga Springs community addresses youth mental health issues with The Visible Project

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — In a time of social distancing and online learning, Rich Johns is on a mission to make sure local students feel seen through an initiative called The Visible Project.

A former teacher and coach in the Saratoga Springs community, Johns is the founder of Act With Respect Always, a movement designed to build respect and leadership among youth.

Johns typically spreads the Act With Respect Always message by speaking to large groups of students and athletes at schools both near and far, but lately that format has changed.

Amid the pandemic, Johns has been speaking more directly to mental health issues, highlighting a part of his program called The Visible Project, an effort to help kids be seen and heard, while normalizing kindness and respect.

The Visible Project originally started in 2017, when Johns was asked to visit Hammond Central School in Northern New York immediately following a student’s death by suicide.

While this was a difficult task for Johns, his words resonated with the students, and The Visible Project was born.

Four years later, as students face the challenges brought on by COVID-19, mental health has become a major focus in school communities around the globe.

Addressing mental health is a key component to Act With Respect Always and The Visible Project. “It stresses the importance of always being kind. The kinder you are the more visible you become,”Johns said. “When you give kindness, it comes back to refresh your own daily mental health.”

The Visible Project encourages kids to create connections and establish a “solid five.” This means identifying five people that they can reach out to that will provide the help they may need.

“If they can draw upon others to help them, then they can help to manage their mental health,” Johns said.

Through this type of communication, “You take your senses of understanding others and having empathy to another level of protection for them,” he continued.

Another way The Visible Project aims to address mental health and ultimately save the lives of young people is by assisting them in envisioning their lives well into the future.

“We’ve got to look ahead,” Johns said. “We’ve got to have these kids believe in not only who they are, but that things will be even that much better as you grow up.”

Additionally, The Visible Project invites kids to write notes of gratitude and appreciation to those who have impacted their life.

“While there are resources for students to help with daily stresses,” Johns said, “subtle actions to make another person feel seen sometimes eases tensions, promotes a sense of community, and lets others know that they have more support systems that they initially thought.”

To help further the mission of The Visible Project at this crucial time, former Hammond Central School principal Kate Cruikshank is starting a Kate’s Wish campaign for her birthday this March, requesting contributions to the outreach of The Visible Project and Act With Respect Always. Donations made through this campaign will help Johns continue to spread his message at this crucial time.

More information about The Visible Project and Act With Respect Always, including details on how to donate to the Kate’s Wish campaign, is available online at actwithrespectalways.com.