LIVE: October 4, 2021
SPECIAL GUEST: Jeff, Kathy & Kara Long
Teens 4 Teens Help is comprised of a group of young people who faced (or are facing) serious mental health challenges—who choose recovery. On this unique peer-to-peer platform, teens and young adults share their stories on the most important topics facing their generations today including depression, eating disorders, anxiety, coping with COVID, suicide prevention, and more.
The founders of Teens 4 Teens Help, Jeff and Kathy Long, started their journey when they admitted their daughter into a Residential Program for the treatment of an eating disorder. It was a bumpy road with many twists and turns filled with many revelations and tools that they learned could facilitate recovery.
The most powerful of these tools was when their daughter spoke at a high school with her treatment center for the 2nd time. She was informed by a student that it was because of her story the year before, he did not go through with his plans to commit suicide, and reached out for help instead. WOW, she saved a life! She felt elated and her experiences were validated. She made a difference and the other big piece to this story is that the teen listened to what she had to say.
Jeff shares that this is a project of love with the knowledge that teens are fairly inseparable from their internet connections, they realized that a peer-to-peer platform was the best way to reach the most people. He continues that their mission is to become the largest movement of its kind that will positively impact the lives of thousands of teens and their families across the country and globally.
ABOUT JEFF, KATHY & KARA LONG
JEFF LONG – Jeff is a film and video producer and director. He has helped many fortune 500 companies market, sell, and explain their products and services. He has taught at Columbia College of Hollywood, written a book, A Parent’s Guide to Anorexia, and recently started the nonprofit Teens4TeensHelp.org with his wife Kathy and daughter Kara. Jeff agrees with the Mark Twain quote – “The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day when you discover why.” Helping teens and families heal from mental health issues is his why. Jeff is a Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude graduate from USC School of Cinematic Arts
KATHY LONG – Kathy is a licensed acupuncturist and has been in practice for over 25 years. She and Jeff have 2 children, one at UC Davis and one at the University of Victoria. She believes in the ripple effect and knows that by improving the life of one person, you impact many, and has seen this firsthand in her medical practice.
KARA LONG – Kara is student at the University of California, Davis, a mental health advocate with a passion for psychology and helping others. After spending years in treatment for Anorexia Nervosa, Depression, Anxiety, she strives to share her experience with teens who are struggling. She works at an Intensive Outpatient Treatment program, speaks on panels, and works with the nonprofit organization, Teens4TeensHelp.org that she co-founded.
