Mental Health Awareness Night on Feb. 11

Mental+Health+Awareness+Night+on+Feb.+11

Hale Miron

On February 11, Suicide Prevention Committee, a CHS student organization, will hold the third annual Mental Health Awareness Night at the girls basketball games as they host Brillion.

The event is being held at the basketball games as the girls are predicted to have a high turnout. Suicide Prevention Committee is hoping to get its message out to as many people as possible.

The committee’s goal is to spread awareness because even in our small community, suicide and other mental health-related issues still occur. They plan to raise money to further spread awareness about mental health.

Sophomore Maddie Sears, the project coordinator, said, “My hopes are to spread awareness to all people attending the Mental Health Awareness Night. I would hope for people to realize that they shouldn’t be afraid of talking to someone about such things.

“I would also hope to inform people about what the Suicide Prevention Committee is and what we do. To me, this means that our committee is able to reach out to others. It also means that we can try to reach out and let everyone know what our committee does and stands for.”

In addition, Sears said she hopes for there to be more events similar to the Mental Health Awareness Night in the future and that she believes that it will prompt more people to look for help and support.

Attendees at the game will be given green ribbons, a symbol of mental wellness.

Shayla Raab, a freshman, said, “I’m happy that we’re bringing a spotlight onto mental health and destigmatizing it because suicide is very prevalent in our society.”

Suicide Prevention Committee will also be hosting a change drive to raise money for the Center for Suicide Awareness. Students can participate in this fundraiser by putting change in containers correlating to different staff members in the commons during lunch. And the staff member with the most change in their jar will break open a piñata at halftime of the varsity game. Kids in attendance will be invited to come onto the gym floor to pick up the candy.

To raise funds for their future projects, Suicide Prevention Committee plans to sell “Stomp out Stigma” winter hats and stress balls. Plus, people can buy tickets for a chance to win a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.