Storytelling as a Form of Salvation Is at the Core of Generation SOS Mission

Robin Aviv believes in the power of storytelling. She also believes that the person telling the story can make all the difference.

That was the guiding philosophy behind the creation of Generation SOS, a national nonprofit that uses peer-driven programs to promote lifesaving decisions around substance misuse and other mental health issues.

Generation SOS empowers young adult speakers to share their personal stories of struggles with mental health issues and substance abuse to raise awareness, help their peers understand risks, and learn coping skills for a wide range of challenges they may be facing. The organization puts a focus on learning positive ways to deal with common life stressors for young adults, such as depression, anxiety, peer pressure, academic pressure, bullying and more.

Generation SOS brings its free, peer-driven substance misuse awareness and prevention programs to students at middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the country, and so far has reached more than 100,000 teens and young adults.

Aviv is the founder of Generation SOS and will be on hand along with several other stakeholders and special guests for the organization’s “Community, Connection and Inspiration” fundraising event, set for Sunday, August 11, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in Water Mill.

The evening will feature a fireside chat with Emmy Award-winning actor and “The Simpsons” star Hank Azaria, who will share his own journey of substance misuse and recovery. Also featured will be a performance by rap sensation Skizzy Mars. Proceeds from the event will support the continued expansion of Generation S.O.S.’s free programs into middle schools, high schools, college campuses, places of worship, camps, Indigenous American reservations, correctional facilities and under-resourced communities.

Aviv was motivated to create the organization a decade ago — and it officially became a nonprofit five years ago — because she was horrified by what she was seeing in schools when it comes to teens dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse. Addiction and drug overdose is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 30. More people die from addiction-related incidents than from car accidents and gun violence combined, and one out of three families are affected by drug misuse and overdoses. The proliferation of lethal fentanyl-laced drugs and pills in recent years has exacerbated the problem.

A tragic period of time in the New York City school community that Aviv’s own children are part of was what sparked her desire to do something. Over a three-month period, Aviv said that six students died of overdoses.

“They were all rock star kids,” she said. “They were either in high school or had just graduated. Most of them were not even necessarily struggling with drugs. They were partying, because that’s what kids do, and they didn’t know any better and they died.”

Aviv, who described herself as a recovering addict, had just finished a stint as president of the PTA around that time, and she said she was disappointed to find out that school administrators were not equipped to deal with the fallout.

“They didn’t want to touch it with a 10-foot pole,” she said. “I think it was the stigma and shame — they didn’t want people to think their school had a problem.”

So she took matters into her own hands, rallying fellow parents and students to create an organization in which young people would take the initiative and be at the forefront. The name Generation SOS has a double meaning. There is the traditional sense of the three-letter acronym, but in this instance it also stands for “share our stories,” emphasizing the particular power of peer-to-peer guidance and support.

Every story and testimonial starts with some kind of mental health challenge, Aviv said, whether it’s coping with depression and anxiety, issues with academics or sports, social pressure and bullying, a parental divorce, sexual or gender identity. “Every kid has stuff going on,” she said.

The speakers then share how they handle those issues now, whether it’s by meditating, journaling, calling a friend. Anything other than turning to a substance to manage the pain.

Aviv said she sees “the magic in the room” when young adults are the ones sharing their stories to a rapt audience of their peers.

She said that an organization like Generation SOS would’ve been “a game changer” for her if she’d had it around the time she was dealing with her own issues.

Aviv said Generation SOS has been growing “by leaps and bounds,” and is funded entirely by its one annual fundraiser and private donations. Young adults are empowered to create their own Generation SOS clubs at their schools, often launching it with a schoolwide assembly, and the clubs then meet on a monthly basis. More than 100 young adults are on the advisory board for Generation SOS, and their engagement is crucial, Aviv said.

“They know what they’re getting from the organization, and they want to give it to friends.”

The organization’s sweet spot has been in high schools, but Aviv said they’ve launched into several middle schools and colleges as well, often through fraternities and sororities.

Locally, Generation SOS has forged a relationship with the Shinnecock Nation, and has done a few events there already, including having a presence at the recent health and wellness fair on tribal territory.

Aviv said she has been in preliminary discussions with several East End schools and is hoping to have a presence there soon.

For more information about Generation SOS and Sunday’s event, visit generationsos.org.