Dover Area High School is hosting its second annual Mental Health Awareness Week, an event dedicated to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and offering students resources and support.
Junior Madison Love explains how she “wanted to get involved with Mental Health Awareness Week because mental health is a major thing in my family and within schools.” Love added, “I wanted to make sure that everyone knows it’s okay to have mental health issues and that there is nothing wrong with that.”
Spreading awareness can help get rid of the stigma and help people feel heard and understood. Love is helping to organize the Mental Health Awareness Fair, which will be held at the school. “I hope students gain the knowledge that it is okay for them and others to have mental health issues and that they always have people they can go to so they can get the help that they need to try and feel better,” she said.
Love and other students have been promoting the event in a variety of ways. “We are promoting the event by talking about it to others and by having it announced over the morning announcements.”
One key focus of the week is helping students view mental health in a more positive light. “I think talking about how it’s okay to have mental health issues and showing them ways to get better or giving them resources will help make the biggest difference in their view,” said Love.
Aevidum adviser Shannon Mort explained more about the events of the week. “We are holding a Mental Health Awareness Fair on May 14 during all lunches in the LGI. We will be having different organizations that will provide resources for students to use and ways to help with their mental health.”
The week also includes a themed Spirit Week to get students engaged:
- Monday: Wear your favorite band/music
- Tuesday: Twin Day
- Wednesday: Wear your favorite workout gear or jersey
- Thursday: Tie-dye
- Friday: Wear green or your favorite outfit
The team hopes to leave a lasting impact with this week’s events.“The message we are hoping for students to take away from this week would be that they are not alone, and that it is okay, not to be okay, and we are here for them,” Mort explained.
To measure the success of the event, Mort said, “We are just looking to see who is participating and who comes to the fair.” She added, “No, we have not received student feedback from previous years. Last year was our first year of doing the fair, so we just built up from having six organizations to twelve organizations.”
With a growing community of students and staff, the week continues to aim for a stronger, more supportive school community.
