WELLINGTON, Fla. — Stress and anxiety are feelings a lot of people are experiencing these days.
That’s exactly why a Wellington boy put pen to paper, writing out his own story of surviving domestic violence and coping with the anxiety it's caused.
Frankie Guidice, 12, is hoping his words will help inspire others.
"During coronavirus or life for that matter, when you’re stuck inside your house, and you have all this time to think, and think about your anxiety and all these different emotions, you have to create the life you want," said Guidice.
As COVID-19 spread across Palm Beach County, Frankie noticed how many people were experiencing anxiety. He felt fortunate to already be working with Marla Green, a clinical counselor with the Children’s Home Society. The essay began as a simple homework assignment but became so much more.
"My main point is that a lot of people have these different types of anxiety, that comes from past trauma. There’s different solutions to different problems," Guidice said.
"It kicked off a passion and a desire to want to help other kids who might be struggling with issues of domestic violence and anxiety," said Marla Green, Frankie’s counselor. "This beautiful, beautiful, deep amazing piece blossomed, you know, from a youngster and who really cares about helping other kids get through this."
Green has been working with Frankie since January. She has helped him learn how to manage the anxiety he developed. Activities such as riding his scooter and building things really help.
"He really extrapolated on how to really change it, change the way we see things and do something about it. You know, if you have a hobby, do your hobby. If you’re stuck inside, if you don’t have money, there’s free things to do," said Katrina Pasco, Frankie’s very proud mom.
Pasco said she and her five children have been through a lot together. She is blown away by how helpful and transformative it has been to just open up, talk about and work on moving on from the stress that filled their past and the anxiety that developed.
"This article really can touch just about anyone’s life. Whether you’ve been involved in domestic violence, emotional and physical abuse of any kind, everybody has been stressed. Everybody has felt anxious at some point in their lives and Frankie has really said that’s ok if you have felt stressed or if you have felt anxious. But you can do something about those feelings and you could really change the world because you can inspire others," said Pasco.
Frankie said he knows all it takes sometimes to make someone feel better is to have someone to relate to. So he wants his words to impact someone.
"My hope is that someone reads this and can get the help they need and to never give up because you never know what good is right around the corner," said Guidice.
The Children’s Home Society is a statewide organization that has created the "warm line." It is a free, confidential, 24/7 support number to connect with a counselor. You can call or text 1-888-733-6303 any time.
You can read Frankie’s complete essay by clicking here.
If you know of someone doing good and Inspiring South Florida, please e-mail their story to us at InspiringSFL@wptv.com.