News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Tyler Stepaniak, left, and Sam Cook walk through the hallway at the Alpena High School on March 23. They are members of the Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory Council and help to allocate funding to organizations and services that support youth issues.

ALPENA — Local high school students name depression, stress, bullying, and substance abuse among the most pressing issues that need addressing in Northeast Michigan.

The Northeast Michigan Youth Advisory Council, which is part of the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, released the results of a recent needs assessment, a survey of students from high schools in Alcona, Alpena, Presque Isle, and Montmorency counties.

The assessment is done every three years. The top 10 issues of concern came from the opinions of over 1,375 students.

Kara Bauer LeMonds, program officer at the Community Foundation, said results from the assessment help members of the Youth Advisory Council issue grants annually to groups and causes to address the issues shared in the survey. She said having the kids decide how to appropriate the money helps them to pick and choose what’s important to them and shows them the importance of working to help others.

“This program helps bring youth in the area together to invest in their community,” LeMonds said. “It allows them to give back to where they live, and it gives them a voice in what issues need to be addressed to make their community a better place to live.”

The Youth Advisory Council was established in 1993. The students have awarded more than $2.27 million in grants for youth projects and services in the area.

The youth philanthropy program was initiated in the 1990s by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which matched money raised by the community. Today, LeMonds said, the endowment has $1.3 million, of which the council allocates 5% each year to local youth causes.

That equates to about $55,000 a year.

Groups that have received grants include the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, Art in the Loft, Catholic Human Services, and local robotics teams.

Tyler Stepaniak is a junior at Alpena High School and has been a member of the Youth Advisory Council since he was in seventh grade. He said it was a way for him to step up and help people his age and others in his community.

“It was for the betterment of Alpena and the whole of the area and I thought it was cool that I could do something that would have a positive impact,” Stepaniak said.

Sam Cook, also a high school junior at Alpena HIgh, said his reason for becoming involved in the council mirrors those of his classmate. He said events over the last several years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, remote learning, and mask mandates, have taken a toll on some of the student body and issues such as mental health are becoming more obvious.

“There are definitely some fellow classmates that are struggling with stress,” Cook said. “I’m confident the pandemic is a prime reason for that, because it disrupted a lot of our lives and it was definitely hard for many people.”

Stepaniak and Cook agreed that kids, especially teens, need more options for recreation in Alpena, which they say would boost the morale of area youth.

“We think having a lack of things to do is a big issue and one we really need to focus on,” Stepaniak said. “New hobbies and having things to do can help you rid yourself of the stress and they are very good things to have.”

Being involved with the council and rising up to volunteer should go a long way to help the two teens when applying for college and when they seek employment in the future, LeMonds said.

“It gives the kids a tremendous leg up and it also gives them tons of opportunity for leadership,” she said.