UNSTUCK: A new resource for teens affected by community violence

From conflict zones in the global South to classrooms in the United States, too many young people feel the effects of community violence first-hand. In partnership with pastors and youth ministry leaders worldwide, we’ve created a new version of UNSTUCK: a practical, Bible-based curriculum to help teenagers stay rooted in God’s love in the aftermath of community violence. Trained mental health professional, missionary, and long-time THI collaborator Misty Bodkins explains why it matters and how to use it.

Announcing the new edition of UNSTUCK

Remember 2020, the first year of the pandemic? It was a difficult time for almost everyone, but the sudden grief, upheaval, and isolation hit young people especially hard. Ministry leaders were clamoring for psychologically sound, Bible-based ways to help kids deal with the difficult emotions they were experiencing, and the Trauma Healing Institute materials team got to work. The result was UNSTUCK: A Teen Guide for Living in Uncertain Times. Even though that curriculum centered on the Covid pandemic, in the past five years it’s helped parents, pastors, and ministry leaders care well for young people in all kinds of “uncertain times,” from Hurricane Helene to the war in Ukraine. 

Pandemics, natural disasters, and large-scale conflicts are difficult enough for kids. But smaller-scale violence — the kind that rips apart schools, churches, stores and neighborhoods — can be even harder. In 2023, after a rash of school shootings in the U.S., Church leaders started asking us for Bible-based resources to help teenagers navigate the unique emotional and spiritual challenges of community violence. 

Today, I’m proud to announce a new edition of UNSTUCK that does exactly that. It includes a guide for group leaders and a journal for group participants. Anyone who supports teenagers from 13 and up can use this free curriculum right away, without any previous training: youth pastors, community leaders, teachers, parents. In five engaging lessons, UNSTUCK helps kids touched by community violence understand their feelings, learn simple practices for times of overwhelm, and reach out to God for comfort. 

Grounded in real life, for real youth leaders

When my team sat down to develop the new UNSTUCK curriculum, we got a real-life example of the dynamics of community violence. The very first time our team met over Zoom, a member of the team told us that there had just been a shooting at a basketball game in her own community the night before. With that real-life tragedy as our inspiration, the curriculum we created is deeply in tune with the unique challenges community violence poses for young people — and the caring adults who want to help them. 

Our heart all along was to create a resource for all people who are already youth leaders, without prior training in any of Trauma Healing Institute’s programs or mental health. A brief introduction at the front of the booklet explains exactly how to use it, online or in person, in a church setting or anywhere, and supplemental resources at the end provide further guidance. The pastors and youth ministry leaders who tested the curriculum have confirmed that it works. I’m one of them. I used portions of the new curriculum at a summer camp, and I can tell you how well it worked to get 100 teenage boys in touch with their emotions and with God. 

UNSTUCK helps youth understand that the ways they feel after a traumatic event aren’t weak, wrong, or sinful. Simple explanations of the psychology of trauma come to life in activities centered on Elijah, David, and Job — people in the Bible who openly share a wide range of difficult feelings with God. Teenagers can see their own struggles through Elijah’s story. David shares their rage at the world’s injustice. And the story of Job shows how well-intentioned friends don’t always know what to say when we’re hurting — but God always does. 

From lesson to lesson, UNSTUCK reassures teenagers that God will never condemn them for their feelings. He has created us all with brains that respond to trauma in natural human ways. And the Lord wants to bring our honest responses and feelings, exactly as they are. He is the safe place for all that’s in our hearts, and he loves us no matter what. 

Getting beyond “thoughts and prayers” 

Community violence is hard for everyone, not just young people. Adults who minister to youth can easily feel confused by the feelings and behaviors teenagers show up with in the aftermath, and intimidated by the depth of the theological questions they bring up. It’s understandable that overwhelmed youth leaders often respond to community violence with a passive “thoughts and prayers” mentality, without being intentional about what will really help the young people in their communities. 

That’s what the UNSTUCK curriculum is designed to change — not only by offering practical mental-health guidance that’s been proven to work, but by helping teenagers stay grounded in their identity in God. After years of youth ministry all over the world, I’ve learned that if you can get teenagers to grasp who they are in Christ, and stand rooted in that, the challenges they face won’t be so overwhelming. The same is true for grown-ups, too. 

How to get started with UNSTUCK

If you minister to a group of young people who are hurting — from community violence or for any reason at all — UNSTUCK can help you care well for their minds, hearts, and spirits with mental-health guidance and Biblical wisdom. Here are some tips for getting the most out of the new curriculum:

• Try it with a group of adults. If you are nervous getting started with youth, try out the curriculum with a small group of adults before moving on to use it with teenagers. 

• Try it with your family. If you’re uncertain about how the curriculum will fit in your community, try working through the lessons with your own teenagers. If they’d rather not talk through the book with you, they can use the prompts to journal on their own, and then let you know their impressions.

• Use just what you need. The five lessons in UNSTUCK are designed to work in sequence, but each lesson can stand by itself. Even if kids are in and out, missing some of the lessons, the stories and conversation flow easily.