Wednesday, November 19, 2025
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . 2➤ Look Ahead To Christmas . . . . . . . 8-11 North Webster Christmas Cash . . . . . . . . . 16 Vol. 55, No. 21
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R.I.S.E. to the occasion: support groups address teen struggles
CIRCLE TIME — Aiden Schrader, volunteer Chelsi Clevenger, Hunter Lewallen and Crystal Lewallen are pictured at a recent R.I.S.E. meeting in Milford. There is also a Warsaw group that meets Wednesdays to talk about the struggles and positive experiences of the week, and where teens are in meeting their goals.
Text and Photos By LILLI DWYER Staff Writer Resiliency, Inspiration, Support, Empowerment - these are the principles guiding R.I.S.E., a support group for all teens 13-17. Living In Transition Effectively, a recovery hub based in Milford, serves adults in Kosciusko and the surrounding counties. Executive Director Tammy Cotton saw a gap in support for teens and started R.I.S.E., open to any teen, with a focus on dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues. “It’s feeling like they just don’t have a space to be themselves,” Youth Advocate Crystal Lewallen said of the need for such offerings. “A lot just don’t have the support at home, having parents incarcerated, living with their grandparents. ... Then there’s parents who aren’t incarcerated but in active addiction, just not giving them the time that they need.” There are currently two R.I.S.E. groups, one in Milford and one in Warsaw. Meetings starts with circle time, where participants shares a struggle from the week, something positive, and where they are in meeting their goals. Some teens want to become cosmetologists, shared Peer Navigator Shelly Metzger, who runs the Warsaw group. Another wants to join the military and is working on the application process. After the circle, it’s activity time, and there’s a wide variety to choose from. The Warsaw group has created art and poetry, gone boating and skiing, worked out and played yard games. “It’s whatever the teens need ... and they bring their own talents to it, as well,” Metzger said. Teens have input on discussion topics, and group leaders can speak from lived experience with some of the same issues. Lewallen, for instance, got involved a year ago when one of her own sons was put on probation and recommended to R.I.S.E. Metzger overcame an eating disorder and substance abuse
LIGHT IT UP — Youth Advocate Crystal Lewallen turns on a neon sign in preparation for a R.I.S.E. meeting. R.I.S.E. support groups are designed to provide teens a place to talk about their problems, including substance abuse and mental health issues. The groups are open to any teen 13-17. before becoming a leader. “It’s trying to help them find balance in life,” Metzger explained, something even adults struggle with. “We talk about peer pressure and social media, how it makes them feel less than ... It’s body image, family stuff, relationships with friends and boyfriends or girlfriends.” R.I.S.E. is also geared to help teens develop life skills. In October, the Warsaw group began attending a marketing class at Grace College. Metzger’s daughter, Megan, holds a degree in exercise science and nutrition, and recorded a podcast episode with some of the teens on health, body image and eating disorders. Because eating disorders have a higher mortality rate than other mental illnesses, Metzger said, it has become a high-priority subject. “I see a lot of anxiety and depression,” Lewallen observed. “We’d like to get someone who’s really good in that area to come in and facilitate some classes ... It’s definitely something we want to make top priority.” R.I.S.E. is available to any teen, regardless of circumstance. “We want the ones who are doing good in school and have that support, we want those kids here as well to be a positive influence on those who might be struggling. Just having a mixture, I think, is going to be really good,” said Lewallen. There have even been walk-ins who started attending regularly, including 14-year-old Aiden Schrader, who feels he and others his age could benefit from getting out more. “It’s good to just go and do something other than sitting at home,” he noted. Lewallen’s youngest son, Hunter, would describe himself as quiet and said R.I.S.E. is a good place to make friends.
SNACK TIME — Chelsi Clevenger and AidenSchrader pick out a snack before the meeting begins. “I hope they know everyone is welcome,” said Metzger. “I want them to know it’s a safe space; it’s a place where they can have some accountability.” “This is for them,” said Lewallen. “I want their voice to be heard.” R.I.S.E. meets 4-5 p.m. Wednesdays, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 832 E. Center St., Warsaw; and 5:30-6:30 p.m. Sundays at 109 Catherine St., Milford. To learn more, visit literecoveryhub.org; or contact Metzger at shelly@ literecoveryhub.org, or Lewallen at crystal@literecoveryhub.org.
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