- Hello, I'm Portia Young.

Next on 10Thirtysix, a member of our youth mental health documentary continues to offer advice along with local health experts.

Wisconsin's U.S. senate candidates will soon debate in our studios.

We'll look at what debate offers voters.

And we'll take you on a special journey to the Ukraine border.

We begin with our continuing focus on youth mental health and raising awareness.

TJ Esser, one of the young people on our award-winning documentary Kids in Crisis, You're Not Alone, continues to have an impact.

He shared more of his mental health journey following a screening of the film and talk back at Oak Creek High School.

- Hi, I'm TJ.

I was one of the four young people featured in the Kids in Crisis film.

How many years ago was that?

I think a lot of trans students especially suffer from so much mental health because it's not always an open place in schools to be who you are.

It adds another layer of difficulty.

If you're kind of going through something that not a lot of people understand.

I'm TJ Esser, and as a transgender person, I've experienced anxiety because society has tried to make me someone I'm not.

(all laughing) - Watch your fingers.

- [TJ] Yeah, that'd be good footage.

- Yeah.

(all laughing) My mom was kind of struggling with the concept and trying to move past the idea of having two daughters.

And we went to my therapist and she really helped my family kind of learn what the process was and move forward with it.

My family's pretty accepting.

- That's good.

- Come on, use those muscles.

- I don't want to go too fast 'cause then they get thin.

The metaphor of the blue crayon wrapped in red paper was from a book that my mom had gotten me to help me explain to people who probably weren't getting it about my situation.

And it was an easy way to explain to people what I've gone through.

(calming piano music) When people ask about like cool things that I've done this is like one of the cool things.

Looking back as far as like when we were actually making it I don't think I realized the impact that it was gonna be having and, and the people that it was gonna reach.

So it's been cool to see it grow and, and spread.

- So this is an amazing event that we finally kind of put together.

So P.A.E.S.

has been really working through the pandemic on different topics.

P.A.E.S.

stands for Partners for Advancing Equity in Schools.

And our mission is just to bring a learning environment to Oak Creek that all students are accepted and we've been doing it through book clubs but this was our first real big event that we brought people together in person for Mental Health Awareness month.

So it was just awesome to see this documentary come to life, for people in the community to come watch the documentary and to participate in a conversation was enlightening and hopefully a starting point to more mental health discussion in Oak Creek Franklin schools.

We had mental health professionals from our school district, mental health professionals in the community.

We had a ton of resources outside at the resource fair.

We wanted TJ to, one of the participants, obviously, to be involved so that you know, we could see his perspective and how much he's learned throughout this process now that he's a little bit older.

- I graduated high school in 2020, and then I started school at UW Oshkosh.

I'm majoring in business management and finance.

After I graduate, I'm hoping to go into commercial real estate investment sales.

So, real estate.

Since the documentary I, I had top surgery relatively soon after.

So that was great.

It's super to, powerful journey to be on.

I had already been on T for a while, six years on testosterone.

My beard gets fuller every year.

So that's, that's cool.

I mean, there's a whole bunch of physical changes, obviously.

Top surgery was huge for me as far as even just like working out and being able to function in life.

And I think that my transition isn't necessarily a huge part of my everyday life.

So, I'm at a point in my transition where I can say that and I'm, I'm lucky enough to pass.

It's it's a huge privilege.

Most people at college don't know that I'm trans unless they follow me on Instagram or it comes up in conversation.

I, I don't hide it, obviously, but it's not something that comes up all to, all that often.

At UW Oshkosh, we hosted a Kids in Crisis greeting.

About 180 people came.

My girlfriend was the one who put it all together.

I worked closely with Sarah, my girlfriend on Active Minds.

It's a club on campus and we host weekly, every other week, we host meetings and then we also do events every once in a while to help with people's mental health.

We do group discussions and, and art nights and art therapy.

Being in school and especially like middle school and high school when I was coming out and as I was, you know, dealing with all of these big emotions and big feelings, um the, the people that I would choose to go to, if I wanted to go to people, is people who made it pretty obvious that they would be accepting.

I think these types of events are so valuable, especially with the panelists.

I think that the talk back really gives people insight that they wouldn't get anywhere else.

- Dr. Grove, TJ, anybody up on the, the stage even anybody here at all.

I'm an elementary school counselor in a different district, and we've been inundated, I'm gonna try to keep my composure, from parents needing desperately help.

They aren't receiving it because the wait is so long.

- If you think about what you saw in the documentary those young people were talking about the way they were treated every day, the way people treated them all the time, the way their peers treated them, the way their teachers treated them, the way their environment treated them.

So anything we can do to help people feel, take the, take on the mission of being a little kinder, being a little more understanding, be a little more patient with people.

What I could do for a kid in an hour of therapy or two hours of therapy or a month of therapy, can either be enhanced by the way the rest of that kid's life treats them or can be torn down by the way the rest of that kid's life treats them.

So we all have a responsibility here.

- I'm extremely grateful for all of you for being here tonight for like this first step in that conversation.

- It's easy to, to feel like you're completely alone.

And like, you're the only one going through what you're going through and you won't be accepted if you, if you come to terms with it or if you're vocal about it, or if you ask for help.

And I, I don't think that, that's true.

Everybody, everybody has their own issues that they struggle with, some more than others, but being vulnerable about it even though it's difficult, can be one of the best things for you.

So I think that the you're not alone, you know those words and hearing those words from people who you relate to is, is huge.

- We're here - to tell you - that you're not - alone.

(pensive piano music) - Children's Wisconsin opened a first of its kind walk-in clinic earlier this year to help with the mental health of our kids.

I spoke with the pediatrician and social worker from Children's about that and about a questionnaire that they issue at wellness checkups that I discovered with my own children.

Their focus is on prevention and early intervention.

- As we were talking to pediatricians in our Children's Wisconsin clinics they were all telling us that as we started to do the screening, they were surprised to find the things that they thought they were addressing.

But sometimes asking the questions deliberately with intention actually brings issues up.

And what it's allowed them to do is to actually address the issues with the children and their parents and caregivers early enough.

- We've seen hundreds of kids in that clinic in just a few months and we've been able to meet their needs right in the moment.

And one of the things that I really appreciate about that walk-in clinic is that families decide if it's an urgent mental health need, we don't decide, we don't screen them in, we don't screen them out.

They say it's an urgent need, and that's all it takes.

You don't need an appointment.

You don't need a referral and we don't screen you.

You just walk in the door.

- What are some other initiatives as you look to grow and really reach more children that are, really right now in the state of Wisconsin in crisis?

- By the end of this year is, what we're going to call a continuity clinic.

And that is going to be also something brand new, something we've not done before.

And again, it's going to meet an unmet need in this community for families who maybe have come to the Craig Yabuki walk in clinic, maybe they've called us to access mental healthcare and might be waiting for an upcoming appointment.

But we know that while they're waiting for what it is that they need, maybe that's intensive outpatient program for example, or an appointment with a psychiatrist that we just can't let them wait.

We will see them in the continuity clinic on a regular basis for a short period of time, until we can get them from here to there - Is Wisconsin on the forefront of these kinds of initiatives for children in America?

- All across the country people are recognizing that children are in crises and children's mental health is something that people are focusing on.

I think one of the things that Children's Wisconsin is doing that is different is really our approach to that early detection, early intervention.

- These experts have more advice for parents.

Go to Milwaukeepbs.org for that plus additional youth mental health resources.

Healthcare is certainly a main issue when it comes to electing our government leaders.

Next month, Milwaukee PBS will host the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association U.S. Senate debate between Mandela Barnes and Ron Johnson.

A Marquette professor says debates generally offer voters more insight into where candidates stand on policy, but there's much more.

- In reality, I think more than half of it is visual.

And that you're right, I mean, the way that someone dresses, their personality, their charisma, all of those things do make a big impact on people.

And you know, some, some experts say that they think that that actually outweighs the policy aspect of a debate.

And that's very hard to prove but it is true that candidates do pay a lot of attention to how they're coming across.

And just for an example, one of Reagan's aides thought that politics is actually so visual that literally, and this doesn't direct to a debate per se but it still illustrates the point, that the way he knows the president did a good job in terms of the media is you turn the volume down on the television and you just look at the picture.

One of the things to really look for is when a candidate is talking about something they wanna do or maybe a goal or an aspiration, sometimes it's incredibly vague.

It's not really a policy, but I'll just use an example.

Like if someone says, well, I am going to make sure that inflation decreases.

I think everyone would like that.

But in some ways that's not really a policy, right?

I mean, so it's interesting to really pay attention to, to who has a plan to actually try to solve a problem as opposed to just saying they'll solve it.

I think that's something that I've started to look for because it's incredible to me, even looking through the old you know, debates, how often people just say, well they're gonna solve this problem so you should vote for me.

On this particular senate race I think Ron Johnson is much more of a known factor than Mandela Barnes, especially statewide.

I mean, maybe people in Milwaukee, you know know Mandela Barnes.

So in some ways the research suggests that this, this debate can actually matter more for like an unknown, a candidate that's not as well known because people feel like, okay we need to learn more about this person.

And I think after being in office for two senate terms I think a lot of people feel like they know who Ron Johnson is, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for Ron Johnson.

But by and large, they say in debates that people who are not relatively known, people look very carefully and want to learn more.

In the polarization that we have, a lot of people are locked into their parties.

It is just a fact, however, especially, you know there's going to be some close races and in close races it doesn't take much to make a difference, so that's one thing.

And the other thing is that there are, you know, still, there are some independents still on the ballots and those voters for sure, are going to probably think of, you know, pay a lot of attention to debates because sometimes people want to actually vote for a candidate who has a chance of winning.

And it, it matters a lot where those independents go.

It, it, we are in a place that it's never been this bad before.

So, I would like to think that if someone learned that one of their candidates was not telling the truth, that somehow, you know, that that would lead them maybe to make a different decision.

But I think for some people that's really not where we're at right now.

- You can watch the debate October 7th at 7:00 PM right here on Milwaukee PBS, channel 10.

A data team will be checking facts during the debate moderated by veteran journalist, Jill Geisler.

Kelly Eger is a west Dallas woman on a mission that took her to the Ukraine border.

Faith and service propelled her to travel thousands of miles alone to help the refugees fleeing the war with Russia.

She shared many of her experiences on social media.

Now we share her journey with you.

- Hey everyone.

So, I think I'm all packed up, ready to go.

I have another six bags downstairs full of stuff.

And I just wanted to spend a couple of minutes just letting you know how much I appreciate all of your support.

And I've been thinking about like, this trip and there's a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He said the, 'The purpose of life, it's not to be happy.

It's to be useful and to be honorable and to be compassionate and to have it make a difference."

And I, I just that's always been my heart to serve my community.

I'm not going to do this to fix a problem or to be self-fulfilling, I'm going because I really feel their burden.

And I wanna help them carry that load.

Like literally carry that load.

Again, I will carry a baby, I will tote a toddler, I will walk for miles, if it allows that mom to just rest her soul for a moment.

I will pass and make out food from sun up to sun down if it fills bellies that haven't eaten for days.

I will try to be as useful as possible.

I look forward to bringing you along on this crazy journey and I'll just keep you updated.

So hugs, kisses, thank you so much.

So I started posting on Facebook on day two because day one was legitimately a full day of travel.

So day two says not gonna lie, after 26 hours of travel getting, to the woman's shelter in Moldova at 4:00 AM and then waking up by nine to start the day was tough, but sleeping wasn't why I came here.

We participated in a network of organizations that were working along the Ukraine border checkpoints in Moldova.

Main objectives: one, create a refugee database to share; two, how to keep the sharks, AKA men that want to exploit women from getting these ladies after crossing into Moldova.

After lunch we headed to a refugee camp.

We met Diana from Odesa who was trying to get her daughter through a medical training on her cell phone.

She asked pastor Oleg if he would, if he had a lead on a laptop.

Me not being local on, I really didn't know how that was gonna come about.

But within two days, pastor Oleg had a laptop for her.

And so, at one of the distribution days, we saw her and it was in the van and I ran and got that laptop and handed it over to that, to her.

And we didn't speak the same language but there was so much joy in her eyes to the point of tears and hugs.

In one picture, I'm holding baby Ismael.

He has a form of down syndrome and a heart issue.

And mama is worried if he's going to die soon because he isn't getting the medical treatment that he needs.

From there we went to an open market and purchased roughly a hundred pairs of sandals.

And we gave those out, several of 'em, to a Ukraine gypsy camp.

Day three, today we distributed the last of the hygiene kits that were packed at the Ridge Community Church.

The first picture is the calm before the storm.

- These ladies are still, still trying to get in.

- It was chaotic, overwhelming but bittersweet to see the actions of those back home support the Ukraine refugees.

After we drove out to the country and delivered some of the supplies to the orphanage, it was so calm.

Say, hi puppy, hi puppy.

- But it made me think that just an hour in another direction, there's a war.

Thousands of deaths, hundreds missing and millions displaced.

I saw a fraction of those fleeing.

I finished my day playing cards with the girls at the group home, and we laughed and we listened to music and we exchanged stories and I never won a round of Moldovan Uno.

Day four, we worked a distribution center further away from the city, a little further away from Chisinau.

This one was much more relaxed and well organized.

Families waited to go through and gather their supplies.

Everything had a place and a place for everything.

Everything was weighed and documented.

And the government actually requires that their paperwork matches up to what was donated here in the states.

We also purchase food for the Ukrainian gypsy camp just outside of Chisinau.

These kids have never eaten a banana.

One little girl just stuck the whole thing right in her mouth.

They were surviving off of oats and boiled onions for about a month.

Day five, I'm seriously losing track of what day it is.

Yesterday was seven hours of handing out supplies.

And today we cleaned buckets, lots of them.

And we delivered water filtration systems to Ukraine refugee camps.

There are 54 camps across the city.

One we visited had 30 people and another had 150 people.

The people are transients, it's getting hotter and the bottle of water is really expensive.

And pipes in Moldova are old and rusty and you shouldn't drink the water out of them but in some extreme cases it's necessary.

I've just been thinking about the last few days and how all of these small acts and the small moments have led me to a different state of mind.

Now, as my awareness grew, I was, really I've been able to see how a small act of service just has this ripple effect on others.

And if you're wondering, bubbles are the international activity for happiness.

I've seen this here and I've seen this in other parts of the world.

So when a child is excited to play with bubbles you can just see it in mom's entire body.

How happy she is.

You know, again, I've been thinking about what I'm doing here and it's not helping because obviously these people aren't weak.

Many of them have left their homes, their husbands, their, their stuff to travel a great distance.

I'm certainly not fixing anything because these aren't broken people.

I guess what I'm doing here is just playing a part in serving them.

You know, I just, I think back to love your neighbor as yourself.

Okay, that's literally what I feel like is happening.

I think I'm on day six.

I was able to get into Ukraine.

Honestly, the number of people has slowed down since Easter.

What was shocking to me was that the number of people actually going back into Ukraine seem to be greater than the number of people coming out into Moldova.

What's happening is they wanna get back to their homes to pick up more supplies, maybe possibly see their spouse, that the, the spouses that have to stay back.

And the sad reality is that they really wanna know if they still have a home to go back to.

This video is of a tent camp.

It holds up to 400 people.

People can stop here and rest here before they get on buses just beyond that to go into Moldova.

They'll go into Moldova, Romania, and other parts of the EU.

There are toilets, but no showers.

And this really is just a temporary stop before they head on to their next part of their journey.

- We're at the Moldova Ukrainian border right now because the majority of the Southern cities in Ukraine are being attacked by the Russian army had people run through this border and then another one.

It actually got most of the hit with a lot of refugees, with moms and babies, carrying their suitcases and plastic bags around from farther Ukraine.

Some of them traveling two to three days.

- Day seven, we went to a church service and pastor Oleg received a letter from the Moldovan president Sandu.

The letter states that she thanks his church and his team for the efforts in serving the Ukraine refugees.

And this is a kingdom recognition, one that honors God and His blessings and His mercy and thank you so much for serving His people elbow to elbow with us.

I wrote that because a lot of the, the people that had served at the Ridge Community Church were a big part of why pastor Oleg was able to serve the Ukrainian refugees the way he was.

It was bittersweet coming back and, and seeing my family.

But I was definitely ready to come home.

- Hear more from Kelly on our YouTube channel and remember check us out on Facebook and at Milwaukeepbs.org.

We'll see you next time.

(upbeat orchestra music)