Ra-id Williams, a 16-year-old Grade 10 pupil at Belgravia Secondary School, has launched the Peer Educators Foundation to confront the city's worsening youth mental health crisis and give learners practical support and education.
Williams told Athlone News he started the foundation after seeing classmates struggle in silence and wanting a safe, peer-led way to respond. Many young people are struggling in silence, he said, adding that learners face pressure at school, problems at home and intense social media comparison.
The foundation will run school-based programmes across the metro, training learners to recognise signs of anxiety, stress and grief and to offer first-line peer support while encouraging early help-seeking.
