Understanding the Needs of Nantucket Youth
| Sponsor: | Our House Nantucket |  |
| Sponsor Liaison: | Fervon Phillips, Pauline Proch | |
| Student Team: | Abigail Luftig, Luis Sanchez, Hope Sherman | |
| Abstract: | Our House, on Nantucket, is a non-profit organization that provides a safe and welcoming place for teens to rest, learn, and socialize. Through adult stakeholder interviews, high school and Our House student focus groups, and a high school survey, we evaluated how Our House can improve its efforts to meet the needs of teens. We found that Our House is meeting the needs of teens who already take advantage of its offerings, but can do more to attract more teens. In addition, we found a lack of accessible spaces for teens outside of home and school, the dominance of sports over other interests, stigma around seeking help, and gaps in outreach. We recommend activities to help raise teen voices and bridge gaps between Our House, sports teams, and other youth-focused organizations on Nantucket. | |
| Link: | ||
Executive Summary
Teens in the U.S. today suffer from a variety of mental health conditions, from anxiety to depression to substance use. In 2024, researchers found that 31.9% of teens had an anxiety disorder, 20% experience depression before age 17, and 4.1% had a substance abuse disorder (Compass Health Center, 2024). In 2024, 55% of the public believed there was a youth mental health problem (Panchal, 2024) due to lifestyle factors, such as social networking and excessive screen time, that exacerbate the mental health stressors associated with teenage development. In response, many schools and private organizations offer counseling services for teenagers and families, alongside broader youth development programs. Many organizations have emerged to provide early interventions and preventive programs for youths. Research shows that teen programs in the U.S. are important in helping young people build confidence, develop skills, and form lasting connections. Nevertheless, there is a shortage of programs specifically for high school-aged teens. According to a CDC study from 2021-2022 (Weir, 2025), two in five teens say they are not getting the social or emotional support they need.
In Nantucket, teens face additional stress due to geographic isolation and housing insecurity. Several Nantucket organizations offer programming for young people, including those centered on academic support, enrichment, recreation, health education, science, and art. Most of these organizations, however, focus on a broad range of ages, and include those younger than high school teens (e.g., the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club). This distinction is important because the needs and interests of high school students can differ significantly from those of younger children.
One exception is Our House, a youth organization on Nantucket that provides a safe and nurturing environment for high school-age teens on the island. Our House is a fourteen-room house, which provides an after-school location for high school-aged teens to relax, participate in recreational activities, and receive academic support (Gullicksen, 2022). As a youth-centered and youth-driven program, the rooms include spaces for gaming, meditation, music, sewing, and just hanging out, which are activities that the teens dictate. Outdoors, there are tennis and basketball courts, and large lawns on which to relax or play informal games like frisbee. Our House staff help with life planning, homework, college applications, financial literacy, job placement, and community service.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this project was to evaluate how Our House could improve its operations, programs, and facilities to better meet the needs of Nantucket’s teens. We completed three overarching objectives to:
- Determine stakeholder opinions on the social welfare needs of youth and the services provided in Nantucket.
- Evaluate Our House clientele’s perceptions of current programs, services, and facilities.
- Assess local high school students’ opinions on social welfare needs and services provided.
To achieve these goals and reach our objectives, we performed 30-minute interviews with 11 adult stakeholders such as Our House alumni and directors of youth-serving organizations on Nantucket. We developed a survey that was distributed to Nantucket High School students and received 52 responses. In addition, we hosted 30-minute informal discussions, or focus groups, with 14 Our House students and 17 students from the Nantucket High School. Prior to conducting conversations with students, whether at Our House or at the high school, all team members were CORI checked. A student was not allowed to participate in the survey or the focus groups if we had not received explicit consent from their parent/guardian.
Findings
Based on our stakeholder interviews, Our House focus groups, high school focus group, and a high school survey, we were able to identify several consistent themes about the needs, challenges, and experiences of Nantucket teens, as well as opportunities for Our House to strengthen its role in supporting them.
1: There are a Lack of Accessible Spaces Outside of Home and School (“Third Spaces”)
Stakeholders and teens repeatedly noted that there is a “general lack of third-spaces where teens can just hang out or have unstructured time with their friends.” Nantucket lacks places like malls or fast-food spots that attract teens in other communities, and many outdoor areas are not well lit or become less attractive during the winter. Teens described Nantucket as “especially boring in the winter,” and 63% of survey respondents reported being often or always bored after school.
2: Sports Dominate Teen Life, Limiting Access for Non-Athletes
More than half of students participate in sports, while students with artistic or niche interests have few opportunities. Stakeholders said students who are “not interested in sports” or who have “niche interests” struggle to find activities that fit them. Teens expressed a desire for programs in arts, music, gaming, SAT prep, trades, and life skills.
3: Stigma Prevents Teens from Seeking Support
Five of the seven stakeholders emphasized that stigma surrounding mental health, identity, and socioeconomic struggles discourages students from using available services. The island’s small size amplifies the fear of being judged or talked about. Teens often avoid places like Fairwinds because others might see in the area. In addition, social media adds pressure around how they are perceived.
4: Certain Groups Face Additional Barriers
All stakeholders identified subgroups needing extra support: recent immigrants, introverts, non-athletes, and teens experiencing financial or housing stress. Cost barrier, cultural differences, and communication gaps (such as parents not checking email) affect program access. Some students also said they are too overwhelmed, too tired, or too busy after school to engage in existing programs.
5: Teen Voices are not Consistently Heard in Community Decision-Making
Stakeholders said teens rarely attend town meetings or have structured opportunities to share their perspectives. Teens expressed that they are “talked to but not really listened to,” and some feel the community values “what tourists want” over what youth want. Students want more direct opportunities to influence programs and decisions that affect them.
6: Limited Awareness of What Our House Actually Offers
While 98% of students surveyed had heard of Our House, many had only heard about dinner or recreational activities offered. Teens were far less aware of tutoring, mentoring, life planning, college help, financial literacy, job placement, shower and laundry access, or other supports. Some teens avoid Our House because they think it is crowded, while others attend certain activities more as a “favor” to staff rather than interest in the programs themselves.
7: Our House is Meeting the Needs of Teens
As an answer to our overarching project goal, we have found that Our House is indeed meeting the needs of its clients, however, Our House has the potential to be a leading figure in meeting the needs of all high schoolers on the island. When asked “What could Our House do better?”, many students responded with some variation of, “nothing, they are doing the best” and in the survey, 22/33 (66%) responses to the question, “What other activities and programs do you wish Our House offered?” were “none.”
Recommendations
Based on our findings, we proposed two sets of recommendations. The first set includes “short-term” recommendations that we believe are the most feasible to implement and require fewer resources. The second set includes “long-term” recommendations that we acknowledge are harder to implement due to scarce resources.
Short-Term for Our House:
1: Our House Should Create a Student Ambassador Program
Creating an Our House Student Ambassador program would elevate teen voices and help reduce stigma around participation in programs, especially those related to mental health or academic support. This would create leadership opportunities, improve outreach, and foster a greater sense of pride amongst Our House. Linked to findings 1 and 6.
2: Our House Should Improve Outreach to Teens and the General Nantucket Community so that Everyone Better Understands the Full Range of Our House Offerings
Our House provides a wider range of programs, opportunities, and resources than what most people appear to know. A more intentional outreach strategy using social media, school partnerships, flyers, parent communication, and the aforementioned student ambassador program could help clarify and promote the lesser-known offerings that Our House provides. Linked to finding 6.
3: Our House Should Increase Mentorship Opportunities with Non-Parental Adults
Expanding mentorship opportunities can help combat stigma, strengthen belonging, and support teens who face many challenges. This provides Our House the opportunity to bring back alumni to offer advice and support. Giving the students support figures that are not solely teachers allows the students to further interact with adults from different backgrounds and perspectives not directly associated with the school. Linked to findings 3 and 4.
4: Our House Should Expand Programs that Support Non-Sport Teens and Niche Interests
Expanding Our House’s programs would allow all Nantucket teens to feel represented in programs they are interested in, not just athletes. Allowing Our House to be the facilitator of various college and career prep programs, mentoring, arts and crafts, amongst others, would also increase outreach as more students with rather niche interests would attend Our House. Linked to finding 4.
Long-Term for Our House:
1: Our House Should Consider Opening Year-Round
Our House is currently closed during the summer and school holidays. Operating year-round would provide more consistent support and reduce the amount of boredom that teens face outside of school by providing a safe place to go to, as well as benefitting the teens facing challenging home environments. Additionally, full-year operations would increase the number of students who could go to Our House as there are more available times for them to attend. We recognize the difficulty of this with regards to staffing and funding. Linked to finding 1.
2: Our House Should Explore Adding a Commercial Kitchen and Increasing Dinner Days
Adding a commercial kitchen would allow Our House to expand cooking programs, offer more community meals, and teach life skills to the teens who attend. Increasing the days Our House serves dinner would support those who experience food insecurity. Additionally, it could be a place for students to safely learn cooking skills. We recognize the difficulty of this regarding staffing and funding. Linked to findings 1 and 4.
3: Our House Should Consider Offering More Off-Island Experiences
Offering recreational and professional trips off island is something that various students have voiced. There are classes and sports that allow students to go off island, but this leaves out various students who simply do not partake in those specific classes or sports. Students are both highly interested and highly willing to attend these experiences. We recognize the financial and timing difficulties this recommendation presents. Linked to findings 1, 2, and 5.
4: Our House Should Obtain a Larger Van
Some teens face additional barriers to attend Our House, one which is transportation. Our House currently provides transportation to those who want and need it. Some students have stated that they choose not to attend Our House because the van is too crowded and because of this, they assume that Our House would be very overcrowded as well. Getting a larger van on top of the van they already have allows Our House to provide more rides and attract more participants due to the vans being less crowded. Linked to finding 4.
Short-Term for Nantucket High School:
1: Nantucket High School Should Consider Giving More Time in Advisory for Academic
Catch-Up
An overwhelming majority of students take part in sports which also take up a large amount of time after school. Advisory was the only time and opportunity that student-athletes had to catch up on homework or retake exams they missed due to the sport. The new, shorter advisory is something students are not happy with, and we believe a longer advisory would help those student-athletes better succeed in their studies. Linked to finding 2.
Long-Term for Nantucket High School:
1: Nantucket High School Should Consider Adding More Career Development Courses to Their Curriculum
Having more support surrounding the students’ future careers would help them explore and understand what students may truly want to further study or work for. Sports, family responsibilities, and jobs are all barriers as to why students cannot participate in activities after-school; however, establishing the classes or trades as part of the school schedule allows students with responsibilities to attend these programs. Linked to findings 4 and 5.
Short-Term for the Community:
1: The Community Should Create a Community Teen Board
Prior to the pandemic a group of non-profit organizations on Nantucket met as part of ACK Teen. This group no longer meets. We recommend that non-profit and youth serving organizations should re-start a community board for stronger collaboration amongst the various non-profit and youth servicing organizations here on the island. The board could help address gaps between teens not participating in the programs offered to them. It would also give teens the opportunity to learn more about what is available to them on the island, such as those who are unaware of niche program opportunities. This collaboration should also extend to sports teams that already dominate activity programming and thus increase exposure to Our House. It would allow representatives of different non-profit organizations, along with teens, to get a better understanding of the current problems teenagers are facing. Teenagers would be given the opportunity to voice their opinions by being on the board with the representatives of the non-profit and youth organizations, participating in discussion, and sharing their opinions. Linked to findings 1, 2 and 5.
Long-Term for the Community:
1: The Community Should Consider Investing in an Indoor Sports Facility
Sports are the dominant programs on the island. When the weather starts to get cold, and the days become shorter, there are few options available for students to practice sports. An indoor, heated, and well-lit sports facility would give students more fun things to do on the island, thus decreasing the feeling of boredom many have expressed in the winter. Linked to finding 2.
2: Adding Lights to the Skatepark
The skatepark is a currently existing “third space” on the island that teens use. However, the skatepark lacks lighting, limiting its use when days are shorter in the winter. To increase the use of the skatepark, it would be beneficial to install “dark-sky friendly” lights which would help alleviate some of the boredom teens feel, create a safer environment, and encourage greater use of the skatepark. Linked to finding 1.
Conclusion
These recommendations are directly formulated from our findings based on research revolving around stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and survey results outlined in our methodology. As such, these recommendations reflect the voices of the teens and serve as general suggestions, and we recognize that some may be significantly more feasible than others. We included recommendations for Our House, the High School, and the Community to benefit all teenagers on the island.