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(upbeat music) - Hi everyone, I'm Steve Adubato.

Recently my colleague Jacqui Tricarico and I traveled with our team to do a series of interviews down at the 2024 New Jersey Education Association Convention Annual convention.

We talked to educators, educational administrators, authors, poets, people engaged in a whole range of activities, impacting our kids, impacting our schools in the world of education.

Here now are those conversations.

Jacqui, myself and some really interesting people in AC.

- Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

We are here in Atlantic City for the New Jersey Education Association Annual Convention of Educators from all across the state.

We are honored to have Mychal Threets, who is a librarian, a literary ambassador, one of the keynote speakers here at the NJEA and the PBS resident librarian.

- Yes.

- First of all, as a part of the PBS family myself, you have to explain that.

What does that mean and how did that happen?

- Yeah, you know what, I love PBS.

I grew up on PBS as a PBS kid, a homeschool kid, a library kid, raised on Mr. Rogers, LeVar Burton, "Dragon Tales," Arthur Read.

So, having the social media partnership with PBS Kids means I get to have book recommendations, share library stories, and just see my name on PBS's Instagram, TikTok, Facebook.

So for me, a PBS kid, it's a dream come true that I never even knew was a dream.

So, it's so very special to be working with PBS.

It's one of the honors of my life that I never knew would ever, ever happen.

- That's awesome.

Mychal, talk to me about this.

Your healthy obsession, your passion for libraries comes from where?

- It comes from my mom, it comes from my grandparents.

My grandmother lived to be 90 years old, and she never had a library card when she was a kid.

She wasn't allowed to.

And then, there weren't libraries for her, but she always encouraged me to read.

All of my grandparents did.

I grew up with four grandparents, two great grandparents, and they all were like, "You're going to read, you're gonna read an hour every single day."

And that trickled down to my parents.

So, it all come from my grandparents, my parents, and then, just growing up in libraries.

I was homeschooled from kindergarten all the way to being a senior in high school.

So, I spent every single week at my local library, it's why I have a library card tattooed on me.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

You've got a library card tattooed on you?

- I do, yeah.

- And when did you do that?

- I did that when I was 23 years old, just because I love libraries so I want to immortalize it on me forever.

It's Arthur Read's library card.

So, I have Arthur Reed on my arm and in the whole library card.

- And he also, I don't know if our camera gets this, "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" is... - [Mychal] Yes.

- [Steve] Embroidered onto your sweater.

- [Mychal] Oh, yes.

- There's no tattoo there, right?

- I wish there was, not yet.

Maybe soon.

I would get his face tattooed.

Him and Bob Ross.

- Hold on.

I gotta understand this.

You're such an upbeat, positive person, but you came up with this expression called Library Joy.

Explain it.

- I don't know if I came up with it, but I am obsessed with Library Joy.

- Well, hold on, where did it even come?

Do we even know where it came from?

- I don't know.

I just started saying, all of a sudden.

I was making videos on social media about library kids, library grownups, about all the visits from library people.

And I just said library joy.

I get so much joy from libraries.

The library is for every single person.

We all belong in libraries.

I mean, libraries are more than just books now.

We have musical instruments, we have board games, video games, programs, homework help.

There's something for everybody.

And well, the library is a place where you can be just as you are.

It's a place where you've always belonged.

And that to me is library joy.

If it's falling in love with a manga book, a graphic novel, audio books, no matter who you are, the library is there for you.

And I will always love that my entire life.

- Connect libraries, library joy.

- Yeah.

- To quote unquote, mental health advocacy.

- You know what, I think they're directly, they're directly correlated.

Libraries and mental health go hand in hand because there are people who are mentally ill, people who are struggling, and they turn to the library.

The library's the last free space.

You don't, there's no obligations.

There's no expectations.

You don't even need a library card to go inside the library.

We want you to have a library card, but you don't have to.

And that's where the connection is, is you can be suffering, you can have anxiety, you can have depression, but then you can find your favorite books at the library.

You can fall in love with Beverly Cleary's character, with Junie B. Jones, with Amelia Bedelia, with "Chronicles of Narnia."

And you will become the best version of yourself just in that local free space, the library where you can be just as you are.

- Have you gotten any pushback, any resistance, pushback to your message, to the work you're doing?

Because I've heard through the grapevine that not everybody's on board.

- I wouldn't say not everybody's on board.

I think some people think I'm like, toxic positivity.

(Steve laughing) And to me, I think it just- - Wait, you just said toxic.

- Toxic positivity.

- Define that, please.

- I can't, I think I don't, I don't think.

- As if we don't have enough positivity.

Really?

Seriously?

- I think it just that people are just like, it's too much joy.

But I think it just means that they're not ready for joy.

They're not ready for happiness.

And that's okay, because joy and happiness are gonna be there for them.

So, I think for me, I'm just trying to encourage them and say, yes, this is where we're at.

Maybe you're having a hard day.

Maybe you're not ready for joy on a Thursday or a Friday, but maybe next Monday, next Tuesday, it'll be there for you.

So, yeah, so, I've gotten some pushback.

Some people don't like what I do too much, but I think at some point they're gonna need what I'm talking about.

They're gonna need libraries.

- Well, let's do this.

There is some pushback, not so much against you.

- Sure.

- Or your message, but there are folks.

- Oh, yes.

- Millions of them who are very caught up in quote, the banning of books.

- Yes.

- You say what to that movement and those in that movement, because they believe there are books that are sending, that send the quote, wrong message to our children in libraries.

- I would say that literacy rates across the world are already plummeting.

We have so many kids who are not at third grade reading level, not at fourth grade reading level, fifth grade reading level, and so on.

So, banning books hurts literacy.

But look, the answer to literacy is Library Joy.

It's getting kids to love books, to love the practice of reading, of opening those pages, of putting on their headphones and listening to audio books every single day.

And when you're banning books, you're telling those reluctant readers, you don't need to read.

We don't want you to read.

That's all that they hear.

That's all that kids hear when we ban books.

So, if we fight for the right to read, if we say, "Yes, you deserve to read.

We want you to read, we want you to love reading."

That's how we're gonna get them to fall in love with books so that they get to all the reading levels and we see literacy rates skyrocket because they're loving books.

So, my answer to those banning books is, one, please just read the books.

So, many people who want books banned, they don't even read the books.

- But Mychal, along those lines, you do believe in quote unquote, age appropriate books and content.

- Absolutely.

Which is all, which is honestly is all books.

I mean, different- - What do you mean it's all books?

- I mean, there are books.

There are kids who are in kindergarten are ready to read books that are meant for seventh graders, because that's the way their brain works.

Their parents have been reading books with them all these years.

So, sometimes kindergartners are ready for seventh grade books.

Sometimes fourth graders only need fifth grade books.

So age appropriate books.

All these authors and illustrators are trying to do is just share a story.

There's no agenda from these authors and illustrators writing for kids.

They just wanna tell stories.

They wanna talk about imagination, about curiosity and discovery.

So any book made for kids is age appropriate.

There may be times where you're like, oh, this kindergartner is not ready for this second grade books.

Maybe the first grader isn't ready for Dog Man and Captain Underpants.

- All different.

- It's all different.

But all books are for different people.

They're all for everybody.

- What about our teachers here at this convention?

You have thousands and thousands of educators from across the state.

The connection between your work and the work of the teachers here at this convention, please.

- Oh, I love education.

My mom is a teacher.

She's been a high school teacher for the last 15, 16 years.

She homeschooled me for an additional 10-15 years.

So she's been a teacher for almost three decades.

So I love teachers.

I love education.

And libraries need teachers.

Libraries and teachers are my favorite people.

We work hand in hand.

We all support one another.

We're supporting literacy.

We're supporting the future of our kids.

Without teachers, there are no libraries, without libraries, there are no teachers.

Education, it is the best thing in the world.

We all have the right to the best education possible.

There's been so much, there's been so long where we didn't have education, where we weren't able to be our best educated selves.

And I will always fight for teachers, for library people.

And that's why I'm happy to be here today talking with you, supporting and amplifying teachers and educators and anyone who's fighting for the future of our kids.

- A very positive message from Mychal Threets, who's a librarian, literary ambassador, keynote speaker here at the NJEA Convention and also the PBS Resident Librarian.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- Well done.

- Appreciate you.

- Stay with us.

We're coming back with another interview after this.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- I'm Jacqui Tricarico on location at the New Jersey Education Association's Convention here in Atlantic City.

I'm so pleased to be joined now by Liz Graham, who is the executive director and CEO of 180 Turning Lives Around.

Great to have you with us, Liz.

- Thank you very much for having me.

- Well, we were talking about this, I had the privilege of interviewing the former CEO Anna Diaz White.

She was being honored at the New Jersey Hall of Fame last year for her 40 plus years of service with the organization.

Dedicated so much time into the work that you're doing and you recently took the helm.

So, first describe for us what is 180 Turning Lives Around?

- So, 180 Turning Lives Around is an organization whose mission is based in preventing domestic violence and sexual violence, and providing response services.

We operate a 21,000 square foot safe home, the largest safe home in Monmouth County.

And we also have a youth helpline that is a statewide program.

So, we are based in Monmouth County and we have wraparound services for domestic violence and sexual violence survivors and youth.

- Youth mental health, such an important topic.

Something we're trying to cover as much as we can on our programming to get resources out there.

Things that are available for youth, for parents as well.

You've mentioned the program, it's called 2nd Floor.

Describe what it is and the app that is.

So, I downloaded that app.

It's so easy to download, so easy to use.

Describe all that for us.

- So, we know that when youth feel supported and they feel understood that they're more likely to reach out for support.

So, in 2008, in partnership with the Department of Children and Families, the 2nd Floor Youth Helpline launched to be a statewide program in New Jersey.

And the concept of the line is really to be, it was to be very discreet, to be able to provide confidential and anonymous support 24/7 to young people so that they could call us, text us, and get resources, get next steps for their problems, maybe identify a trusted adult, do some role playing.

And I'm so happy to say that I think since 2008 the stigma around getting help has certainly decreased, and that is a wonderful thing.

But we do know that there is an epidemic of loneliness throughout our state, throughout our country.

So, we're really trying to work hard to be there and meet kids where they are at.

And I'm so proud to say that we are just launching a new youth mental health app developed in a partnership with the Department of Children and Families.

And this app is going to be a game changer in the way that we're being able to provide services to young people.

And again, meeting them where they are right on their phones.

We're really excited about that.

- A quick tap you can message somebody.

That's what everybody does today where it's all about texting.

How quickly can I get a message out?

Can they reach out about anything at all?

- Anything at all.

So, that is really our platform is that we are not a suicide line, we are not a crisis line, we are an anything line.

Our mission is to let kids know, don't think about it, just reach out to us.

Reach out to us in the way that is comfortable for you.

We offer, still, we're offering phone calls where we are always talking to a live counselor.

Text messaging where you are always connecting with a live counselor, mental health professional.

And now in the app we're able to provide chat services.

So, we're really excited to be able to say that this is a New Jersey-based for New Jersey youth, and really don't think about it, just reach out to us.

- How are you getting the information out there that this is available to young people?

- So, really exciting time.

We have been able to launch a new marketing campaign around the youth mental health app that has been created with a lot of input from young people.

We had a focus group of over 1,000 young people contribute to the way we develop the app and certainly, how we have developed our marketing campaign.

Our campaign is about, it only takes a second to reach out for help, and we are really partnering with the school professionals.

We are partnering with community organizations and really trying to utilize social media campaigns and all of the traditional ways that you would reach young people - How have you seen the 2nd Floor program and the app so far?

How have you seen it really impacting and being a resource?

How many, just give us an example of how many people are reaching out per day to use this resource.

- So, we are super excited that we were able to launch this app.

We launched on September 12th to coincide with the beginning of the school year, 'cause we know that's a really great time to get information out to kids.

And we also know it's a really stressful time for kids.

And since then, so two months after launching, we have had over 3,000 young people download the app.

And when they're downloading the app, they're able to get access to a community board where they're able to post messages to their peers, peer-to-peer support, there is self-help resources that we are seeing that are being utilized in great volume.

And again, being able to chat with a live counselor.

So, we're really impressed with those results and we know that once we have kids have it downloaded on their phone, that really allows us to make sure that we're sending push notifications, reminding them that we're here.

Again, a game changer in the way that we're able to interact with young people and make sure that they know that this resource is available at all times.

- And that's one resource, but the people that are connecting back with the youth, they're also connecting them to other resources that might be available in their towns or communities, right?

- Absolutely.

- Other ways that they can find help.

- Absolutely.

So, the wonderful thing about 2nd Floor is that it is a New Jersey-based helpline.

So, our counselors are able to work with the youth and get very specific on what kind of resources that we're being able.

We might be web surfing with them to figure out, you know, if they share with us information about how we can best help them, we're able to drill down to a very, you know, a level of this might be a resource in your school or in your town.

So, we're able to make sure that New Jersey resources are being given to kids and that they're always talking to a mental health professional that is right there in their state.

- Like I said, we are here at the NJEA Convention, tons of educators here.

What can our teachers do inside the classroom to keep helping and continue to be a resource for our students when it comes to their mental health?

- So, I always like to say that we are really, I think, an asset to school professionals.

I think our school professionals in New Jersey do a wonderful job of connecting with kids.

They know the kids that they're working with.

But what we can offer is that we are available 24/7.

So, maybe you are dealing with a young person who, you know, you know that you're gonna see tomorrow and continue to work with them.

You can say, "2nd Floor is a resource, I might not be available at 3:00 am, if you need support, but 2nd Floor is there to get you through to when we talk again."

So, I think if school professionals can always keep us in mind when they are, you know, dealing with young people who might be experiencing some issues, but also keep us in mind for all of their young people that they're dealing with, because it's such a valuable resource.

We have kids that are contacting us about homework help, right?

Stressors, things that are, you know, that you don't get out of adolescence without experiencing.

And we also wanna make sure that kids know we are here when you do go through that major thing, because you don't get out of that adolescence without going through something that is major or at least major to you.

So, for school professionals to really know about 2nd Floor, spread the word.

Be good ambassadors of making sure that kids know about us.

Making sure they have our materials hanging in their classrooms.

That's really important.

- Well, I have the app downloaded, it takes two seconds.

It's great to just check it out and see what's available even in your community.

So, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us, Liz, and give us more insight about some helpful tools here in New Jersey.

- Absolutely.

Thank you very much.

- Thanks, Liz.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- Hi, I am Jacqui Tricarico, Senior Correspondent for One-on-One here at the NJEA Convention in Atlantic City.

And so pleased to be joined now by Todd Henkin, who is a musician and innovator of Creative Health and collaborative songwriting.

So great to have you with us, Todd.

- Yeah, thank you for having me Jacqui.

- So you are part of something this year called The Point.

I see it over there, it's a brand new area at the convention this year.

Describe for us what The Point is.

- The Point is a place where people can go and then write their own song, primarily.

Also make music, dance, connect to their body, connect to their purpose.

You know The Point, the idea is sort of this dual meaning of kind of where did you start, where did you get your inspiration, connect back to that, and then bring that to where you are now.

You know, there's a lot of burnout with teachers.

How do we connect to our place of inspiration and joy and why you're an educator and bring that forward?

So how to make a song of that, could be a short song, it could be just a chorus.

How do you take that and bring it with you every day?

And people have been coming by and writing with us, dancing with us, recording, we have a recording booth, and then we are taking those songs and we're doing an experiment, which last night we got together and we took pieces of all of those songs and we are creating an anthem of the convention of everyone's voices who came with us.

So it's all of those purposes-- - It's big collective.

- Together.

In one song that we're gonna perform, - So what if I walked over there?

What would I be doing?

- Well, you would be greeted by one of us and you'd be taken around and you'd get to go through a flow.

So there's two kind of ways you can think of a flow.

One is creative flow.

So you're gonna find a place in The Point where you can connect to your creativity.

I like to say, when you're looking, you can look like this.

And then when you get in the flow, you're here.

You know, you're, you're looking off and you're finding that place inside of yourself that's creative.

And actually there's a lot of health benefits of that.

It's a place where you can rejuvenate.

So going over there, you would find the place in our flow, connect with someone, they would witness you, validate you in your purpose, and then you'd start writing.

And a lot of people say, "Oh, I can't write a song."

Right?

"I'm not an artist."

- Right.

I would say that.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

It's like everybody says that.

But what happens over there is you have a conversation or you start somewhere, you know, maybe you start with a rhythm, maybe you start with just how are you doing?

And by having teaching artists over there, we have a great team, you just have people witness you and meet you where you are and get into this flow of like, wow, that's really interesting, 'cause it is, and then it starts turning into a song and people are like, "Oh my God," before they can think of, I'm not an artist, they're over that barrier and we're writing a song and I'm saying, "How do we sing that?"

And then they're like, "Oh my God, I'm writing a song."

And after 10, 15 minutes they've got something that they can sing.

- They're going through a really unique experience.

What do you hope the educators are taking away from this, and how do you see them bringing some of those concepts or ideas back into their classroom?

- So I've heard it said that teaching is 80% of just who you are, you know?

So I think rejuvenating yourself as an educator and connecting to your purpose and bringing that into the classroom is the most important thing.

When you show up there for all of those people to create a space for them that's safe for learning, that's also inspiring, that's the most important.

So teachers connecting to their purpose is the first one.

And then, you know, whatever, some people might come back for a second song, you know, to bring into the classroom.

Maybe they're inspired by one of our activities.

You know, maybe they wanna have conversations with people that bring a new context to something that kids need to learn, you know, that it's hard to connect to.

Maybe they wanna write a song or bring in a teaching artist.

It's giving people new ideas and I think creating allows people to connect to that part of themselves that says, "You know what?

"I can get, I am an artist."

And I think teachers are artists and allowing, we allow them to do that and be creative and connect to that part of themselves that's maybe been waiting to come out.

- You're an artist.

You are a musician.

How did you come up with this concept?

'Cause you're here.

I mean, you're not living in the states right now.

You're here all the way from Scotland.

- Yeah.

- What made you wanna come here to New Jersey to talk to our educators and give them this experience?

- Well, I was invited.

I posted about some of the work I've been doing in hospitals with folks with mental illness who are living in community together with parents and families.

I did the Lullaby Project with Carnegie Hall.

- What is that?

- That's this big project run by Carnegie Hall for the last maybe 15 years.

And people are, you have teaching artists and families getting together when they have a new baby and writing a lullaby, an original lullaby for them to connect as a family, to have their family song, you know?

And that's what I've been doing since the pandemic.

So it got started there.

A lot of the folks in my teaching artist team, we worked together in that.

And I posted about all of these ways in which songs and writing songs can be so helpful, so healthy, so amazing and inspiring.

And Chrissy Miles from NJEA-- - Yes, we love Chrissy.

- She's amazing and she invited us.

She invited me, said, create a team, sort of like superheroes, do a thing, make The Point.

You know, she said, just make it happen.

And this vision happened on a little drawing board.

And then I came here and it was like, oh my God-- - It came to life.

Huge sign and all the things that were drawn in little figures are now there.

And it's been such a beautiful space.

- You're using music to inspire others, to help others in so many different ways.

What does music do for you personally?

- For me, it's always been my center.

I think there's a rhythm to how you live.

So for me, it's in everything I do.

If I'm noticing, if I'm being present, then I think all of those things go in.

And when I sit down to write, it's a way of connecting to my life instead of just going through it, I can sit down and I have this practice that I've had for 25 years of what am I noticing and how can I connect back to that and then put it into a song and celebrate it or grieve it or all of the things, where are my emotions connected to the way in which I'm living life?

So it's kind of my system of noticing and living and processing, but also in celebrating and grieving, all of those things wrapped up for me.

- You're here in New Jersey, where else is music taking you?

What else is next for you and your journey?

- I don't know.

Yeah, I mean, I have a new album that I'm gonna put out and I've got, I recorded in Nashville and I did it my own style.

I didn't do it in a regular recording studio.

I invited, I had a party and I fed everyone and in Nash-- - Food, it's important.

- You've got all of these people who are incredible musicians.

And I said, I sort of put the call out with my friend Charlie Tree, and people just started showing up.

They said they found really good food, they found a bunch of good songs and then we started playing and recording and we caught an album, you know, in a week of doing that continuously for a week.

So I'm gonna release that album.

I hope music keeps taking me around the world, doing this, doing my own songs.

I love writing songs with people and performing them and recording them.

So I don't know where it's gonna take me, but I really, I love that I keep getting these opportunities - Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us too so we can learn more about what you're doing.

- Thank you for having me.

It's been great.

- So for Jacqui Tricarico, myself and our entire team down in Atlantic City at the 2024 New Jersey Education Association Convention, we thank you so much for watching, We’ll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center.

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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

PSE&G, And by Valley Bank.

Promotional support provided by NJBIZ.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

- (Inspirational Music) - (Narrator) Great drive fuels the leaders of tomorrow and today.

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