To help break the stigma, a Milwaukee-area podcast is giving teens a platform to talk about their mental health journeys.
Wish You Knew records every other week at a podcast studio at the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting people with disabilities or who struggle with isolation. The podcast is hosted by two high school seniors and is part of the organization’s UMatter programs, which aim to empower teens and adults struggling with their mental health.
Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez spoke with Levi Stein, the president and CEO of the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, and Lizzy Thurow, a senior at the University School of Milwaukee and a cohost of the podcast.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Wish You Knew introduces listeners to teen guests who have struggled and overcome significant mental health challenges. How did the idea to create this podcast come about?
Levi Stein: I served on the committee of the Office of Children's Mental Health, which is a statewide committee, and we did a lot of research on what the needs are for our society's youth in the field of mental health. One of the outcomes of all that research was peer support. Another big piece was youth voice: not having an opportunity for our kids to really share how they feel … when it comes to mental health, having a genuine conversation with another peer is so different than when you're talking to an adult who's kind of trying to fix you or make you better or whatever. When it's two kids talking, it's just a more genuine conversation. And that's how the podcast idea came up. Where all the other mental health podcasts out there are adults or experts that are talking to others, here it's not about the expert background. It's about two kids having a conversation and allowing the world to hear what's going through our youth today, what's happening to them, and then, for so many of the teens that are listening, to not feel alone.
Why is the podcast named Wish You Knew? Is there a story behind that?
Stein: We started an event called One Thing I Wish You Knew — this was an in-person event that we did three years ago, and we had four teens share their stories to a large audience. It was called One Thing I Wish You Knew because, in their story, we wanted them to share what they wished people knew and understood about their mental health journey. And close to 500 people showed up. It was an incredible, incredible event. After that happened, we were like, ‘We're so sad that we only allowed four teens to speak,’ and they were only able to speak for four minutes each. There's so many more kids that have a story to share, and they need more time than just four minutes. So, the podcast was born.
Lizzy, you and Autumn are both the season two hosts of Wish You Knew. How did this opportunity come up, and why did you decide to become a host of this podcast?
Lizzy Thurow: I’m a senior at the University School of Milwaukee … and in your senior year, you need to do an internship or a tower project — I ended up doing both. Long story short, one of my friends from the class works with Levi and she told me that he was looking for someone to be a podcast host.
I think all along, I was super excited about the idea [of being a host], but I didn't realize that I was going to have to share my mental health journey, and that was a lot for me. Of course, I knew what I was about to do, but I didn't really take it into heart. So sharing my story and being vulnerable was something really difficult for me because the stigma, I think, is so overpowering. So just working up the courage to be able to share my story for the better good of me and everyone else out there listening who might be able to relate was something that I really had to overcome. And I feel like I've come a long way in the mental health realm, being able to go out and become an advocate throughout this podcast.
Why do you think it's important to give young people this platform to be vulnerable and share these difficult experiences?
Thurow: There's no one story for mental health. And I think that something interesting about this podcast is that there's no right or wrong way to have a mental health journey. So Levi has been very adamant about having whole plethora of stories … and I think this podcast is important and ultimately shows all of our audience, you may not feel like you have a great support system, but we hope that this podcast can be a form of support in your life and recognize that you are not alone and that it's a journey. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but this is just one step to finding that light. So I think that coming on this podcast and showing that vulnerability helps people, in the long run, to be able to overcome that stigma in the mental health realm and, ultimately, anywhere else in their lives.
You can visit the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin to learn more about the Wish You Knew podcast.
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