In 2026, kids are dealing with more stress than ever. Young people are navigating a world that is increasingly uncertain and with the rise of social media, comparison culture is at an all-time high, which can lead to chronic stress and anxiety.

In addition to the stress of just being a kid or a teen in the world, many kids are facing other significant life stresses like food insecurity, housing instability, or frequent moves.

100% of FriendsPDX youth have experienced an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), which are potentially traumatic events that kids from ages 0-17 experience.

We sat down with Trace, one of our paid, professional mentors to talk about some of the things we do to support youth mental health and what kids are struggling with the most today.

“Kids need a lot of support with mental health and wellness in the context of our work at Friends of the Children - Portland.”

“In particular, kids are stressed about friendships and don't always feel equipped to make friends. They are hurt when they don't get invited to stuff and want to learn how to develop stronger interpersonal relationships. They often ask the question: ‘How do I connect with people and choose healthy connections?’”

One of the ways that we support kids with peer-to-peer community is through our peer support groups. We have five different groups: two Girls Councils, two Boys Councils, and the Unity Circle which are small groups where kids get to talk about what’s going on in their lives and get support from both their peers and other adults.

These groups usually start with a journaling activity or reflection question and sometimes do things like a craft project. One group recently did a project with wooden boxes decorated like an ideal space to reflect a cozy corner of their world as a form of art therapy.

For two boys that Trace works with, the Boys Council has been particularly impactful for community building. These two kids have struggled to make friends in the past but after getting to know each other better in the Boys Council, they are hanging out with each other outside of Friends, going to the skate park, and are always super excited to go to the Boys Council.

This is just one example of how FriendsPDX is supporting kids to find peer community, which can make a huge difference for kids to have another person in their corner who understands what they are going through.

When asked what he wishes people knew about what kids are struggling with today, he said: “The problems that our kids seem most concerned about are often interpersonal; friendships, dating, teachers/parents being unfair. We often tend to minimize what kids are going through, because we know how these relationships evolve, but these things feel earth shattering to a 12-year-old."

At FriendsPDX, we know the power of a long-term relationship to help kids develop healthier coping strategies to deal with the stress in their lives. Our long-term model is designed to promote stability and trust for kids who need it the most.