New program has kids help kids with social pressures

She thought she had no future, pretty much hated everyone she met and was bouncing in and out of juvenile detention, mad at the world.

Janyssa Vaughn, seventh-grader from the Plant City area, was doing poorly in school and had no clue how to "handle" people. She cried a lot, burned herself, and even thought about committing suicide.

The 12-year-old pushed back when her grandmother, Voneta Largent, suggested last October she attend an organizational meeting for a new group dedicated to helping young people find their self worth.

Janyssa went to the meeting anyway, and walked out with a new outlook.

"The first day, she didn't want to smile," said Rhiannon Capling, one of the organizers of the group, I Care About Me.

"She had nothing she cared about. From there, she has grown."

Seeing Janyssa smile during a recent mixer for the group at The Regent was "just awesome," Capling said.

Janyssa openly wept that night, as she shared her story through a short documentary clip with other members of the group.

"I've let go of my past, and I've succeeded," she says in the piece.

One big change has been learning to talk out her issues with some of her peers.

"I know I don't have to be angry. If someone approaches me in a bad way, I can just walk away," she said.

I Care About Me is a social program, where kids get together and talk about what's happening in their lives and work on ways to better resolve conflicts, build self esteem, reduce violence and tackle other common issues.

Each week, 15 or 20 students between the ages of 12 and 19 from across Hillsborough County, along with a few younger siblings, meet at a donated space at Mount Moriah Ministries in Plant City; organizers say the group, which has been meeting since September, is a pilot program, and they hope spurs can start up in other areas.

Before I Care About Me came into her life, Janyssa said she had no friends, nobody to talk to about why she was so angry. I Care About Me has changed that for her and helped her to realize who she really is, she said.

"She has opened up a lot," said her grandmother. "She's getting along better with her mother, not fighting, has more control. She used to cry every single day, and she said she had nothing to smile about. Obviously, this group has something that's helped to turn that around."

I Care About Me grew out of ConnXions, a nonprofit group that teaches young people to network and develop relationships, which DJ Ekin started while he was with WBTP (95.7 FM). The DJ, whose real name is Bobby Hack, took rapper Maino to a halfway house for troubled teens in Tampa, and the rapper talked about how so many kids get into serious trouble because they don't care about themselves.

That was the impetus for I Care About Me: teaching kids that clothes and jewelry don't matter as much as morals and values, said Ekin, now a DJ at WPOI (101.5 FM).

I Care About Me took the program one step closer to the kids, giving them a place to go and meet with peers, share their ups and downs, talk things out, Ekin said. The program also teaches kids how to develop relationships, he said.

"We don't claim to be doctors or anything," Ekin said. "We just want to be the cool, central place where kids can go and mingle and do positive things. The kids have stopped caring, period. We want to bring that back."

I Care About Me presents specific topics to the group of kids, then allows them to discuss them among themselves, said Capling, the executive director of ConnXions.

"Basically, the program is meant to be a social vehicle," she said. "We create it so kids from anywhere can have access to the program material we create. They need five people minimum to start a group.

"What happens to the kids during the week dictates the flow."

At a recent meeting, when the group was talking about conflict resolution, each teen was asked to describe what that means. Then they discussed how to resolve conflicts.

"If someone is antagonizing you, what can you do, instead of engaging? That's what they talk about," Capling said.

"It's really cool to see them come back and talk about how they reacted differently," she said. "You can't really change how anybody else acts, but you can change how you act and lead by example."

The group meeting in Plant City includes several from the Riverview area.

Eddie Jordan is among them. Before joining I Care About Me, the ninth-grader at Riverview High School was a loner. He spent a lot of time in his room, working on his music, but had few friends.

One of the exercises he has used to help bring him out of his shell is standing in front of a mirror and talking to himself about who he wants to be, Capling said.

"They do that each day. They even put sticky notes on their mirrors to remind them," she said.

Jordan said the group has taught him to care about himself and to better express himself.

"I have made more friends," said Jordan, 15. And he's working on being more active in school groups, as well.

Eventually, the I Care About Me organizers hope other groups will start and offer support for kids such as Jordan closer to home.

"We have some kids from Bloomingdale High that are going to be junior ambassadors for us, that are going to start a blog to get things going," Capling said.

To learn more, visit www.icareaboutme.org, or go to the group's Facebook page.