Bronx kids and teens joined Broadway performers, including Lexi Lawson and Samantha Williams and Keren Abreu for a special event, Empowering Youth Through Songwriting and Performance, at Montefiore Medical Center earlier this month to address the teen mental health crisis.

 

Hear Your Song, a nonprofit that empowers children and teens who live with serious illness and complex health needs to make their voices heard through collaborative songwriting, teamed up with Montefiore, described by Montefiore officials as a leading academic medical center, for the event at the center, located at 110 East Gun Hill Road in Norwood, on May 3.

The two organizations hosted a concert featuring 12 original songs penned by young songwriting patients who participate in a partnership program offered by Montefiore’s child outpatient psychiatry division, called the Youth Empowerment Series (YES).

 

According to Montefiore, since 2021, Hear Your Song facilitators like Dan Rubins, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit, have led songwriting workshops in partnership with Dr. Jenny Seham, YES psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center, allowing youth participants write and produce songs about anything they want, from celebrating friendship to struggling with depression.

According to 2022 CDC data, one in three high school students, and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, an overall increase of 40 percent from 2009.

 

Additionally, negative events during the COVID-19 pandemic were linked to a higher prevalence of poor mental health in teens, according to CDC reports. Hear Your Song and Montefiore representatives said both entities recognized the urgent need for mental health treatments and support for youth, including songwriting, which the said was a “powerful tool for self-expression and healing.”

 

Lawson told Norwood News she has been singing since she was a little girl, as well as doing theater. She is from The Bronx and said she came back in order to give back to her borough.

Speaking to Norwood News, Williams said, “I’m originally from Houston, Texas but I’ve been living in New York for the past 6 years, and I’ve done about two Broadway shows and other things in the City. I live in Harlem now.” Of the event itself, she added, “I’m really just here to help bring these kids songs to life.”

 

Meanwhile, Abreu, who lives in Brooklyn but whose parents live in Norwood, also performed at the event, singing a song, the lyrics of which were by CIRO. Abreu told Norwood News, “I have been singing for what feels like my whole life, but professionally in New York since 2016.”

She continued, “I’m actually from The Bronx. I’m from elementary school. I learned about ‘Hear Your Song’ from Dan because I’ve actually known Dan since we were in middle school, and when he was starting ‘Hear Your Song,’ I was like, ‘This is such an amazing program and such an incredible mission,’ and so I started volunteering with them last year.”

Abreu added, “The concepts and the lyrics that these kids come up with [are] just so incredible! Sometimes, I also hope to compose some of the music [to accompany their lyrics],” she said. “It’s just been so much fun getting to bring songwriters’ music to life with my voice.”