🧠Save the date!🧠

Thrive Year One Presented by My Friend Abby and TPAUD Trumbull's Prevention Partnership 

This event will feature a presentation by Dr. James Geisler to discuss the academic, social, and personal changes of young adults entering college. His workbook, titled Thrive Year One: The Essential Mental Health Workbook for First-Year College Students focuses on social connection, establishing healthy boundaries, building a wellness routine, embracing diversity, and developing help-seeking skills, the workbook offers practical, self-paced, and interactive exercises that empower students to navigate common challenges they will face in their first year of college. 

Dr. James Geisler is a mental health advocate, educator, and author. He oversees student mental health and wellness in the higher education sector in CT. With a career dedicated to improving student mental health, Dr. Geisler has built a reputation for innovative leadership and a deep understanding of the mental health challenges faced by students today. 

Books will be sold after the event. Parents will also be able to submit their questions during the live Q&A segment of the event.

🍀Pastor Plunge 2025🍀

A huge round of applause for our incredible community that always comes together for a great cause! 🍀 We’re beyond grateful to everyone who donated and came out to cheer on the brave souls who took the plunge at the St. Paddy’s Day Pastor’s Plunge at Pinewood Lake yesterday—all in support of My Friend Abby.

Special thanks to Pastors Tim and Todd, along with the many other fearless participants, for taking an icy dip to raise awareness for youth and young adult suicide prevention. ❄️💙 Your support means the world, and this event was a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish together. It was a great crowd and so much fun; thanks also to McDonalds for providing Shamrock shakes and burgers for all plungers! 

From the bottom of our hearts—thank you for making a difference! 💚✨

A Heartwarming Success! 🌟

This February, My Friend Abby’s "Shining Love on You" project brought joy, hope, and connection to those in elder care and cancer care. 💖✨ With over 30 students coming together, we proved that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big impact!
MFA is all about empowering young adults to spread love and build meaningful connections—and this project was a beautiful reminder of that mission. Thank you to everyone who participated! 💕

Pictured in photos:
L to R: 
Abby J from My Friend Abby and Jennifer, Teresian Towers.
Becky, Becki, and Rachel, Radiation Oncology Department at Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center.

🌟Peer-to-peer connection in action! 🌟

My Friend Abby’s “Shining Love on You” community project for February was a huge success! Over 30 students came together to brighten the lives of those in elder care and cancer care. ✨

MFA’s mission is all about building connections between young adults, and this project showed just how powerful kindness can be. From writing heartfelt cards (because handwritten words matter for mental health!) to assembling gift bags with felt flowers and candy, everyone played a role in spreading love. 

Supporting others brings us closer—let’s keep the kindness going! 🫶 ☀️💙

This project truly did #37HelpOthersInABigWay, thank you! 

MFA at the Shelton Rinks: Advocating for Mental Health Awareness

MFA had an amazing time at the Shelton Rinks, cheering on the talented THS Hockey Players as they faced off against their opponents in an exciting and high-energy game! But this event was about more than just hockey—it served as a powerful reminder of the importance of mental health awareness, especially within the athletic community.

We were proud to partner with Shouldercheck, an incredible organization dedicated to promoting mental health in sports and supporting athletes both on and off the ice. Together, we emphasized the importance of checking in with those around us and fostering a culture of care and connection.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible! Your efforts inspire us to continue breaking the stigma, building supportive communities, and ensuring no one ever feels alone.

Holiday Cheer For Mental Health!

This holiday season, almost 50 My Friend Abby volunteers at Trumbull High School came together to spread joy to young adults who are currently hospitalized as psychiatric patients. By staying after school to wrap gifts, fill gift bags, write personalized cards, and share the holiday spirit, students contributed to a meaningful cause and connected with others in a powerful way.

Our guest speaker, Dr. Ariana Rick, a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner from Hartford Healthcare St. Vincent’s Behavioral Health in Westport, CT, highlighted how mental health is often overlooked, especially around the holidays. She explained that while most donations are directed toward medical hospitals, psychiatric patients are frequently left with very little. Many of these patients come from difficult home environments and face acute mental health challenges, preventing them from going home for the holidays and necessitating their stay at the psychiatric hospital.

This My Friend Abby Community Project empowered young people by blending creative activities with meaningful discussions about mental health. By the end of the event, volunteers left knowing they had contributed to #37HelpOthersInABigWay.

Connecting With Our Community…

A huge thank you to our volunteers Theresa and Veronica; Autumn and 
Dylan from Redline Graphics; the talented Big Shrimp band, and to everyone who came out to Roadrunner Kitchen + Bar in Black Rock to support this fun event benefiting MFA! 

MFA Club At Trumbull High School!

Thank you to our MFA young adults, volunteers and new MFA Club members from Trumbull High School who helped out at TPAUD Trumbull’s Prevention Partnership’s Freshman Forum!

MFA Community Project

Heroes Behind the Mask: Encouraging Student Resilience!

Our most recent My Friend Abby Community Project was designed to empower young people by combining creative activities with meaningful discussions about mental health. We discussed how helping others can increase motivation and create a sense of accomplishment through the release of "feel-good" hormones in the brain. This project harnessed that energy, giving students the opportunity to connect, contribute, and build resilience.

Our event included two hands-on activities. First, students decorated coasters with positive affirmations, creating pieces that serve as reminders of encouragement and support while building a bridge between students and our broader community. The second activity involved decorating masks for Halloween with the theme, “Behind every mask, there’s a hero waiting to shine!” Through this theme, we encouraged students to see themselves as capable of self-care and inner strength.

Our guest speaker, Johnny Crowder, CEO and Founder of Cope Notes, shared his powerful journey, openly discussing the challenges he faced as a student and the resilience he has built along the way. By emphasizing the value of peer support and safe spaces to talk about mental health, Johnny encouraged students to reach out for help and lean on one another.

His message reinforced the goals of this project—to foster a community that supports mental health and builds connections that make a lasting difference.

Share Your Light 2024

Our guest speakers shared their personal stories and insights, each shedding light on the importance of vulnerability, resilience, and community support in navigating mental health. Their powerful messages underscored how essential it is to create spaces for open dialogue about mental well-being.

We are also immensely grateful to The Original Vazzy's and Claire's Corner Copia for the delicious, donated food, and to Two Roads Brewery for generously opening their space to host this special event!

Thank you to our incredible sponsors for being an integral part of our mission. Your partnership strengthens our efforts to bring hope and support to those who need it most. Together, we’re building a brighter, more resilient community. We couldn’t do this without you!

Shining Together For Suicide Prevention

On September 10, 2024, we hosted a powerful event in honor of World Suicide Prevention Day.

The triennial theme for World Suicide Prevention Day for 2024-2026 is "Changing the Narrative on Suicide" with the call to action "Start the Conversation". This theme aims to raise awareness about the importance of reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations to prevent suicides. Changing the narrative on suicide is about transforming how we perceive this complex issue and shifting from a culture of silence and stigma to one of openness, understanding, and support.

Attendees came together to create hope through action, hearing from inspiring guest speakers and participating in our first-ever walk, symbolizing unity in the fight against suicide. A special addition this year was the opportunity to write messages or names on luminaries, which served as heartfelt tributes to those affected by suicide and as beacons of hope for prevention.

The evening concluded with talks from those who have experienced loss and mental health struggles, along with a moment of silence, and a candle lighting.

This event and the stories that have been and will continue to be shared reinforce our commitment to raising awareness, particularly in light of the alarming increase in youth and young adult suicides.

Click the image below to check out our event in the CTPost!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Pastor Plunge 2024! The pastors, Rev. Tim Hare of Trumbull Congregational Church and Rev. Todd Shipley of Unity Hill United Church of Christ, braved the chilly waters of Pinewood Lake in support of the mental health and suicide prevention mission of My Friend Abby, Inc.

Reverends Tim and Todd were joined by several other resilient individuals, including members
of the Trumbull High School wrestling team, all of whom survived the icy plunge to enjoy a
Shamrock Shake afterward!

My Friend Abby appreciates the support of the Reverends, and all of the participants and contributors to Pastor Plunge 2024. We hope to see you again next year!

Shining Love On You!

An MFA Community Project!

The senior lounge at Trumbull High School was absolutely buzzing with activity as students came together to make a huge difference through My Friend Abby’s “Shining Love on You” community project. The goal of the project was to brighten the lives of local nursing home residents who might have felt forgotten this Valentine’s Day.

And guess what? It wasn’t just about spreading love—it was a win-win for everyone involved. Volunteering had been shown to boost mental health and wellness, and this project perfectly aligned with MFA’s mission to foster peer-to-peer connections among young adults.

Over 40 young adults participated in #37HelpOthersInABigWay by writing heartfelt cards, creating gift bags, and assembling them with adorable stuffed animals and candy. Additional tasks were completed, and students enjoyed snacks, refreshments, and a special visit from Yale Officer Rich Simons and Heidi, the service dog!