The following blog was written by Emma Gilliam, Summer Search Intern and Master of Public Administration student at UNC-Chapel Hill. She shares her reflections from attending the NC State of the Child Summit including how it reinforced how important it is that we continue investing in mentor relationships and support systems.

Content warning: This post contains language about suicide. Reader discretion is advised.

Hi! I’m Emma Gilliam, a new intern on the National Program Team at Summer Search and a Master of Public Administration student at  UNC-Chapel Hill. I joined Summer Search because I believe in the power of mentorship. Right now, I’m working on building internal tools and resources to strengthen how we support young people. That’s why I was excited to attend the NC State of the Child Summit in Raleigh with my friend Lilly Parker — she’s my classmate and co-founder of our grad school nonprofit club, Leaders for Good.

The summit was hosted by NC Child and the NC Institute of Medicine. It brought together people from all kinds of sectors, nonprofits, government, healthcare, education, to talk about how we can improve the health and well-being of children across North Carolina. I left feeling inspired, motivated… and honestly, a little overwhelmed. There’s a lot of work to do.

One of the most powerful moments of the day was seeing NC Child present their new Child Health Report Card. The focus this year was on school-based mental health. Some of the numbers were heartbreaking — about 9.5% of high school students in North Carolina have attempted suicide in the past year, and the student-to-counselor ratios in our schools are nearly four times higher than the recommended levels. But there was hope, too. More young people than ever are covered by health insurance, and youth substance abuse rates are going down. It reminded me that there’s progress worth celebrating.

Rwenshaun Miller was the highlight of the conference for me. When he took the stage, he held up two things: a UNC football jersey and a straitjacket. It was a jarring, powerful moment. He talked about his journey from being a student-athlete at UNC to being hospitalized for his mental health, and how that experience led him to become the kind of therapist he needed but never had. His mantra, “Be who you needed when you were younger,” stuck with me. Rwenshaun works with youth in ways that are outside the traditional box — he plays basketball, lifts weights, draws, and plays video games with the young people he supports. He said that formal therapy settings don’t always feel safe or relatable for kids, and so he meets them where they are. It had me wondering — how could mentoring adopt some of these practices? How might we create more informal spaces that foster trust and healing?

Another session I attended focused on foster care, where I learned that 16,000 kids are in the system in NC right now. That’s not a small problem, it’s a complex, structural one. Every panelist emphasized the same solution: collaboration. We can’t solve problems like these in silos. We need shared goals, better policies, and a lot more resources.

I also sat in on a powerful conversation about the mental health impacts of Hurricane Helene. As someone from Western NC, it hit close to home. One therapist shared how she’s seeing children with PTSD-like symptoms, fear of wind, fear of rain, all triggered by the storm. But I also saw the power of community organizations stepping up. One example was Centro Unido Latino Americano in McDowell County, which played a crucial role in reaching and supporting Spanish-speaking families during and after the storm. Their ability to partner with local governments, provide translation, and deliver critical services reminded me just how important grassroots leadership is in times of crisis. Investing in those partnerships now is what will make the difference when we need them most.

The themes from the summit — collaboration, culturally responsive mental health care, and showing up for youth in ways that feel real and supportive — reminded me of what drew me to Summer Search in the first place. Our mission is to better support young people through a critical time in their journey. Our mentors are trained to support young people through tools like Depth Mentoring, which includes understanding trauma, critical consciousness, and adolescent development. This summit reinforced how important it is that we continue investing in these relationships and support systems.

Overall, the biggest takeaway from the day was that we need more collaboration, more creativity, and more people who care deeply about young people. This conference reminded me how much that matters.

Thanks for reading!

– Emma