Youth-led, community-supported event scheduled for Dec. 12
By Ava Lafiosca GUEST COLUMNIST
Over the past few months, I’ve been part of a youth planning group working to create something Big Sky has never really had: a community forum where local high school students can speak honestly about mental health, belonging and the changes happening around us. Being a part of these meetings made something really clear to me: we need spaces where youth voices are not just invited, but taken seriously.
Last winter, Be Well Big Sky hosted “Big Sky State of Mind,” a theater and public dialogue tour conducted by members of the University of Montana’s “State of Mind” team. During that experience, so many of us opened up about things we were struggling with: isolation, stress, feeling unheard and watching Big Sky change faster than we can process. Those conversations stuck with me. It felt like the first time adults actually paid attention. And instead of letting it end there, we wanted to build something that kept the momentum, something youth-led, ongoing and real.
Mental health challenges are a huge reality for my friends and classmates. Small communities can feel suffocating, and even when you’re surrounded by people, you may still feel alone. We need adults who show up as humans, not just authority figures. And we need a place that’s normal, not embarrassing, to talk about what is going on.
On Friday, Dec. 12 from 5 to 7 pm at the new Arts Council building, we are creating that space.
The Youth Advocacy event is a simple, youth-led open mic or poetry forum—something cozy, low-pressure and honest. We want a space where people can share their stories, anonymously if they prefer, without feeling judged or shut down.
Although the night will have a welcoming structure, we’re aiming for 4 to 6 young people to kick things off by reading their pieces. Additionally, we’ll have a jar available for anonymous submissions where attendees can share questions and concerns. Our goal is to foster honest conversations about mental health, pressure and everything in between. We envision this event as a springboard for ongoing dialogue, rather than a one-time occurrence that fades away.
One analogy stuck with me from Big Sky State of Mind, when somebody said, “It feels like we are stuck at the ‘kids table’ during Thanksgiving.” We are being told to stay out of real conversations, but in other moments, we feel we have adult responsibilities. That contradiction and exclusion is something a lot of us feel, when it comes to our experiences living in Big Sky. Our community is small, where everyone knows everything about each other, which leaves little room to make mistakes or be vulnerable without being judged. When you don’t have adequate support or when your friend group feels limited, you can end up feeling alone and isolated.
This event isn’t the finish line, it’s the beginning. Many of us are now a part of the Youth Advocacy Group organized by the Coordinating Council of Big Sky, where we meet off campus, work on creative projects and actually influence what happens in our community. We want to turn our ideas into real action, like public art projects, articles to spread awareness or monthly meetups where we get together and talk about what’s going on and what needs to change.
We hope that people leave this event feeling more connected and less alone. I want adults to hear us—not out of pity, not because they have to, but because our experiences matter. I want youth to feel like they belong here, even as Big Sky changes. And I want this forum to become a place where we can express things we were told to keep quiet. This is the kind of place I wish we had sooner; now we’re building it.
This project is a community-supported partnership, sponsored by the Coordinating Council of Big Sky.
Ava Lafiosca is a ninth grader attending Big Sky Community School. She plays soccer for Lone Peak High School, and enjoys staying involved in the community, volunteering, and trying to make this world better than she found it.
