When Desheka Williams asked a student what “alone” feels like, the young girl didn’t answer with words. Instead, she drew herself sitting at the far end of a cafeteria table—separated from the rest of her classmates.
“That’s what alone feels like to her,” said Williams, founder of ABC for Teens. “And once she shared it, it opened the door for other kids to realize they weren’t the only ones feeling that way.”
Moments like that are at the heart of ABC for Teens, a 26-week social-emotional learning program that helps young people navigate everyday challenges—one letter at a time.
The program is structured around A–Z topics teens face daily, from A for Alone and B for Bullying to Z for Zeal. Each weekly session combines guided discussion with creative expression, giving students space to process emotions through art, writing, spoken word, role-playing, and peer discussion.
While the program follows an A–Z structure, Williams said each cycle introduces a new set of words so students who continue in the program are not repeating the same topics.
“Since it’s a new word each cycle, they won’t get ‘alone’ again or ‘bullying’ again if they’re still in the program,” Williams said. “The next A might be ‘attitude,’ or B for ‘believe,’ or C for ‘confiding in people.’”
“Each topic in the ABC for Teens book gives them books to read, movies to watch, and music to listen to—three of each—related to the word, depending on how they like to learn,” she said.
Williams, a Fayetteville native and graduate of E.E. Smith High School, said the idea for ABC for Teens grew out of her professional background and her personal experiences as a parent.
After spending two decades working in health care, Williams said she felt called to create a program focused on youth mental and emotional well-being when she launched her nonprofit, Tillers in Christ.
Williams said ABC for Teens was originally designed as a book she hoped schools and youth groups could use as a resource before it grew into a hands-on program.
“I watched my own children struggle to express themselves, especially around middle school,” she said.“I wanted them to have a safe place to have fun getting in their feelings and learning how to talk about what they’re going through.”
Each session begins with a short lesson—about 15 to 20 minutes—focused on a specific topic, including its causes, possible solutions, and a self-check component.
Students then spend the remainder of the weekly session, which typically runs 45 minutes to an hour, expressing what they’ve learned through drawing, painting, spoken word, writing, role-playing, and peer-to-peer interviewing.
The program aligns with CASEL’s core social-emotional learning competencies, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Sessions also address de-escalation strategies and suicide prevention.
ABC for Teens launched last year as a pilot program and has since been offered at W.T. Brown Elementary School, the Boys & Girls Club in Fayetteville, and Westover Recreation Center.
Participation methods vary by site, with some schools selecting students through counselors or social workers and community sites allowing families to sign up directly.
Williams said the program’s first full cycle at Westover Recreation Center ran from March through September and showed clear signs of impact.
“Parents told me their kids were managing anger better at home and opening up more,” she said. “I saw kids go from being shy and barely speaking to jumping up when it was their turn to talk.”
She added that the skills students practice often carry over into school, home life, and extracurricular activities.
“One boy who used to bully others had a complete turnaround,” Williams said. “He realized it wasn’t the right thing to do and started participating more in class.”
Intern Shakoya Graham, who worked with the program during the cycle at Westover Recreation Center said she witnessed similar growth.
“Throughout the program, I saw noticeable positive changes in the students over time,” Graham said in a written statement to CityView. “The activities and discussions were thoughtfully designed to be age-appropriate, and it was inspiring to see how the program positively influenced the teens.”
ABC for Teens is continuing to expand, with a new launch planned at Hunt Recreation Center in Holly Springs in January.
After seeing the program’s early impact, Williams said her long-term goal is for ABC for Teens to expand countywide, including into Cumberland County Schools.
“The goal for this upcoming year is to get into Cumberland County Schools if the county can find funding for it,” Williams said. “From my experience, since we’ve launched ABC for Teens, it has had a positive impact in behavior for the youth and character development—even in how they express themselves and how they approach doing things differently.”
Families and community members interested in learning more about ABC for Teens can visit teenabc.org.
To contact education reporter Dasia Williams, email dwilliams@cityviewnc.com.