The annual Tyler Valcich Memorial Car Show and Cruise, a fund-raiser for the Tyler Project, happens on Sunday at the Amagansett Firehouse.
The Tyler Project raises awareness of mental health concerns and cyberbullying for students, young adults, and families, and provides immediate and ongoing counseling, educational services, and programs to help prevent some of the crises facing young people on the East End. Tyler Valcich was a Montauk resident who took his life in 2014 at age 20.
Tyler was a car enthusiast who loved old muscle cars, said his mother, Valinda Valcich of Montauk, who with her husband, Mickey, owns Mickey’s Carting and Mickey’s Lawnscapes. A friend of Tyler’s organized the first car show in 2014.
Tylerproject.org offers abundant information about mental health and bullying as well as resources on crisis intervention and suicide prevention. These are critically important in an era in which young adults report higher stress levels than older generations, according to the American Psychological Association. Happiness among youth is in decline worldwide, according to the World Economic Forum, with a combination of economic, technological, and ecological pressures to blame.
Since Tyler’s death, Ms. Valcich has led this initiative to help at-risk youth. At a gathering of young people at the Montauk Firehouse, “we said, ‘How can we help?’ “ she recalled this week. “They point-blank said they’d never talk to their parents or see a doctor” about internal struggles like stress, anxiety, or depression.
“I said, ‘What about a bonfire, if we all hang and talk?’ “ she said. Thus was born the East End Chat and Chill Group, a therapist-assisted discussion and activity group. “All these kids, for whatever reason, get together,” Ms. Valcich said. “They select a site they want to go to, a therapist sits in with them, and they discuss all their issues.”
“That’s the biggest thing now,” she said. “If someone has an issue, they call and we try to get [them] immediate help.”
Many young people take part in the Chat and Chill Group, Ms. Valcich said, calling it a dismaying indication of how much it is needed.
She pointed to the internet and social media as harmful to young people who may be particularly vulnerable because of a precarious state of mental wellness. “There’s no on-and-off switch,” she said. “I always wanted to sue Facebook. There were groups out there condoning suicide.” There are even websites that provide methods and encouragement for people to take their own lives, she said. “And kids were doing it.”
Registration for the car show starts at 8 a.m. Doors open at 9, and a cruise to Montauk and back starts at 3 p.m. Those with a car, truck, motorcycle, or boat to exhibit have been asked to drive, push, pull, or tow it to the firehouse. The day will also include live music, raffles, food and drinks, and truck rides for children.
Registration for a vehicle and driver costs $25 and can be completed at tylerproject.org/car-show. Admission for spectators is $10, free for children under 12.
