What’s The Problem Anyway?​

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• Mental Health

  • According to The Rochester Post in 2023, 40% of high school students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness​

  • 25% seriously considered suicide 

  • 10% attempted suicide (extension.unh.edu) 

  • In America, 1 in 5 youth experience a mental health condition and 60% do not receive needed treatment 

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• Physical Health

  • Most common chronic conditions among NH youth is Obesity at 30% and Anxiety/Depression at 30% and rapidly increasing. (CDC) 

  • Factors such as seasonal isolation, rural/suburban transportation barriers and screen-time-heavy lifestyles all contribute to this problem.

  • Chronic illnesses for youth in our area is less about rare diseases and more about lifestyle-related conditions, respiratory issues, and long term mental health disorders 

 

• The Connection Between Mental and Physical health

  • These issues reinforce one another

  • Youth with chronic physical health problems are significantly more likely to experience anxiety, depression and social isolation.

  • Youth with mental health struggles are more likely to be physically inactive, develop poor nutritional habits, and experience worsened chronic illness outcomes. 

 

• Spiritual Health

  • Though 59% of NH identifies as Christian, the youth reality is a different story with a high percentage of “spiritual but not religious” and many disengaged from church.

  • New England trends skepticism toward institutions and values authenticity, creativity and personal meaning.

  • Traditional church programs alone will not reach most youth- especially those struggling with mental or chronic health issues. 

 

The core issue is not just mental illness, chronic physical health or loss of faith, it is the fragmentation of all three. 

 

This is where Breathe Life New England comes in. Here, is where art and ministry meet.

 

What We Plan To Do About It

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For us, this isn’t just a nice idea. This is a vision that God has placed on our hearts to affect real change, meeting our youth where they are and attacking the problems they deal with daily.

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Below are some tangible ways that Breathe Life New England Youth Arts Academy will address these crises. 

 

• Mental Health 

  • Art based programs

    • reduce anxiety/depression (well documented through expressive therapy research)

    • provide non-verbal emotional outlets

    • build identity and confidence

  • Faith integration adds

    • meaning, purpose

    • hope frameworks

    • a narrative beyond “I’m struggling” 

Our program will be especially helpful for youth who won’t seek traditional therapy and youth dealing with chronic illness stigma. 

 

• Physical Health and Chronic Illness

  • Our program will incorporate

    • diverse artistic mediums such as (but not limited to) movement arts, music arts, textile arts, visual arts, agricultural arts and more

      • arts offer system regulation, routine and structure, expression and trauma processing in low pressure environments

  • For chronic illness, our program will encourage gentle and consistent activity, building body awareness and self-regulation and reducing sedentary habits tied to obesity and screen use. 

 

• Spiritual Health

  • Often, the traditional view of Christianity and Church fails to reach our youth because of the perceived rigidity and irrelevance of it all.

    • By using an arts-based faith approach, it invites exploration rather than pressure and allows youth to ask questions, express doubt, and encounter faith through creativity.

      • This could look like storytelling through short stories/spoken word, original songs written out of personal experience or visual art exploring questions and purpose. 

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Our Mission

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Our mission is to reach New England's youth and renew their well-being by combining the healing nature of the arts with the redemptive power of Christ. It is our dream to see New England transformed, taken out of the top “least churched regions in the country,” and perhaps flipped on its head altogether. As young people encounter Jesus and are equipped to lead, create, and believe boldly, they become catalysts for change. Together, they propel New England into a Gospel-centric region, pioneered by the passion, belief, and drive of our youth. We know that God can do it, and with His blessing, this will be exactly what He means it to be, and it will transform lives.

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Join Us

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Through the founding of Breathe Life New England, Steven and Bethany endeavor join with other mission-minded individuals and organizations who have a desire to see real-life change come to our youth and by extension their families and ultimately our community. By combining the arts with the Gospel of Christ, we can see how children’s lives will be changed and inspired to live out their God-given purpose.

 

This is a movement for the renewal of life, for the most vulnerable among us, the youth of New England.