Special to the Record
YouthElemento, a program of North Suffolk Community Services, launched “Chelsea Speaks,” a podcast about mental health created by and for young adults, on May 7 during an event at YouthElemento headquarters, 289 Broadway.
The 6-episode podcast includes frank discussion of mental health issues, interviews with mental health professionals, and a variety of resources. The podcast, funded through a grant from GreenRoots, aims to fill a gap in resources for the 16-22 age group by breaking down stigma and connecting peers to resources.
North Suffolk Community Services YouthElemento Program Manager Wendy Mancia welcomed the many guests to the event, which had a professional Hollywood-style atmosphere emblematic of the outstanding quality of the podcast.
“This was a six-month project,” said Mancia. “We received our grant in November (2024), and since then we’ve been working on it. There will be six episodes airing every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on the North Suffolk Community Services YouTube Channel.”
Mancia said the podcasts have different themes related to mental health for youth people. “With those themes, we share our life experiences and our resources for young adults and families.”
The two hosts, Chelsea High students Tomas Martinez and Kiara Ramirez, did a fantastic job leading the guests through the interesting discussion on the podcast.
A 2009 graduate of Chelsea High School, Mancia is leading an undiscovered treasure of productive educational and social experiences at the Broadway location. She is hoping that the highly regarded and well-attended program can continue for years to come.
“This is the last year of our grant, but our hope with this premiere is to have more funding to continue the work that we do,” said Mancia.