As refugees from Kosovo, Tatiana Benack’s parents carried with them a lot of trauma from their home country. “This was many years ago, but they still had that mentality of living in survival mode,” says Benack. “I was the first person in my immediate my family to say, ‘Let’s break this intergenerational cycle and ask for help instead of suffering in silence.’”
It turns out, by introducing her family to mental health wellness, Benack found her passion. Today she’s the founder and executive director of Noteworthy Resources of Albany (NWR), a grassroots nonprofit that provides a broad array of adaptable mental health services in the Capital Region, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Formed in 2017 and entirely volunteer-based, NWR boasts an impressive flexibility and reach, providing elementary, middle and high school programs, plus business seminars and even…skateboarding?
“I found there was such a need for skateboarding,” says Benack, referring specifically to Albany’s youth. “We started a skateboarding program in June of 2020 to implement self-esteem, work ethic and a lot of mental health that kids never thought was involved in skateboarding.” The program culminated in Benack and others garnering funding and support to create Endure Skatepark (now called SHRED Industries), the only indoor skate park within 100 miles of New York’s capital.
Now that Endure is complete, Benack’s looking to expand her school programs into more rural areas, where mental health resources are scarcer. As for Benack’s parents? “Their attitude regarding what I do to advocate for mental health services is positive,” she says. And after years spent struggling with his mental health, Benack’s father finally went to therapy.
Benack is one of 10 honorees featured in the holiday issues of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living. Join him and nine others at our 6th annual Capital Region Gives Back event, returning to Putnam Place at 6pm on December 11.
