Today's guest post is written by Sara Dawkins, a nanny and freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor to http://www.nannypro.com/.

When volunteering becomes the topic of discussion, most people assume that means one volunteers at the local soup kitchen or the animal shelter. Those are the more common and easier ways to give back in your community; you help helpless animals and feed those who are hungry. But for those looking for more of a challenge and want to take their assistance up to the next level, try volunteering with teens.

Everyone knows that teens are a tough group to work with; babies and children are innocent, fun and sweet. The elderly are wise, calm and full of wonderful stories. Teens that are in need of help are the ones who don’t want it or don’t think they need it. You remember your teenage years; you or your friends were wanna-be rebels and didn’t care about anything but yourself.

There are several organizations across the United States that are based around helping teens with all sorts of issues from educational to physical, but few focus and help kids with emotional and mental problems. Mental illness has always been paired with a negative social stigma, because it’s mental and not a physical problem that you can see.

Teens with mental illness are those who pose possible harm to themselves or to others. Teens with mental illnesses like bipolar or manic depressive disorders could suffer from suicidal or homicidal thoughts, self-harm, stealing or drug use. Combine the teenage years and serious mental illnesses and you have yourself a very tough situation.

You can help these teens by volunteering your time at special centers dedicated to aiding them in their journeys. Teens need a positive adult to look up to, so activities that you might interact with them on are:

• Baking and cooking
• Arts and crafts
• Career fairs
• Talking and advising
• Writing exercises
• Physical activity like tossing a ball

Working with troubled teens isn’t for everyone. It’s only for those who are looking to make a difference in a teen’s life by acting in a mature, friendly and positive manner. Subject matters may come up that can be very uncomfortable and one needs to be able to figure out how to respond and handle these kind of conversations. For more information on where and how you can help out teens with issues, check with your city’s teen programs or visit the National Alliance of Mental Illness.