WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The U.S. Surgeon General first sounded the alarm about a youth mental health crisis in December 2021 issuing a public health advisory. He warned that young people are facing devastating mental health challenges experienced by their generation. From the COVID pandemic to school shootings and social media, young people are struggling.
Can music therapy help with this crisis? One Columbus family believes it can and they’ve committed a YouTube channel to the effort.
“We realize that we are in the middle of a children’s mental health epidemic. We see it in our homes, we see it in our schools, our communities, our places of worship. We see it on the news,” says Celon Wise IV, a musician and YouTube content creator. “So much of what we see out there is really a symptom of a greater problem, which is a lack of understanding about how to deal with our emotions and how to relate with others in a healthy way. We hope that in a small part, our music and content can help address that and remedy it.”
"The Wise Channel" was created by Celon Wise IV, his wife Ashley and their two sons. The family creates family-friendly music and videos to support children’s emotional well-being. They’ve also established a nonprofit called The Wise Mosaic which has a mission to empower children’s wellness through creativity and community.
Their latest project is a new album entitled “All the Feels,” that was created to help children identify and regulate their emotions through music. The album is also raising awareness about the youth mental health crisis.
“Usually, when you think of children’s music you think of nursery rhymes and stuff,” says Wise’s eldest son, Ceylon V. “But this album is the real deal.”
“All the Feels” featured Grammy winning and nominated children’s artists, with songs that represent specific emotions and span diverse genres like hip hop, jazz, pop, rock, Latin, acappella and more.
With 21 thousand subscribers and millions of views worldwide, the Wise family believes content like theirs can serve as a resource for addressing youth mental health.
“We always want our content and our music and whatever we do to have a tangible impact. We want it to be entertaining, fun to listen to, fun to watch, but also something that makes change in our community,” says Ashley Wise.
Music therapy has shown promise in decreasing anxiety levels, reducing stress and improving mental wellness. So, the Wise family is putting their money where their music is.
The Wise Channel will donate its YouTube ad revenue from the first one million views of the album’s first music video for the song “I’ve got That Joy” to the Kids Mental Health Foundation, formerly known as Own Our Sleeves.
But they stress, there is another very important tool that parents can start with at home.
Ashley Wise says it’s communication. As a mother, she knows how important it is to just simply talk to your children.
“Keeping that open line of communication at all times, letting your child know that you are a resource for them, that they can come to you with anything,” Ashley said. “That’s the first line of defense in my opinion.”
If you’d like to check out The Wise Channel and view the music video “I’ve Got that Joy,” you can view it here. Ad revenue from the first one million views of the video will benefit the The Kids Mental Health Foundation - The Kids Mental Health Foundation.
So be sure to watch the video and watch it often.