Since she was elected vice president of Student Association in April, Joyce LaLonde said she has worked to make the ideas she campaigned for a reality.

On Sept. 12, LaLonde announced to SA that there will be the first-ever Mental Health Awareness Week at Syracuse University from Oct. 2-8.

“The week is going to be a look at the intersectionality of mental health and a reminder to the tools and resources available on campus,” LaLonde said.

While campaigning alongside current SA President Eric Evangelista, LaLonde spoke on how it is necessary to have an event surrounding mental health on campus. Both Evangelista and LaLonde highlighted that area as something they hope to improve by increasing access to mental health care.

“Mental health should be the forefront of what we wanted to run,” LaLonde said.

LaLonde spent the summer in Syracuse, and during that time she formed a relationship with SU’s new health promotion specialist, Kristelle Aisaka.

LaLonde also spoke with Active Minds, a group that opens up the dialogue for mental health on campuses throughout the United States.

Kylie Kerker, an SU junior and president of Active Minds Syracuse, said when she was in high school, one of her best friends was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

“No one should ever feel ashamed about their mental health and everyone should feel supported in seeking and asking for help when they need it,” Kerker said.

Kerker and LaLonde have worked together to finalize a plan for Mental Health Awareness Week. They will have group workshops and opportunities for students to speak about how they are feeling, LaLonde said.

“College students go through stressful times,” LaLonde said. “Everyone has experienced this kind of stress. They all can relate to mental health.”

She said the combination of pressure to drink and to do well in school is something that students always go through.

LaLonde said the new program will introduce the appropriate way for people to talk about mental health, a conversation she said is “heavily stigmatized.”

There needs to be more opportunities for people to speak up and about mental health, Kerker said. She said she hopes to start that conversation and to educate not only the students but also the faculty and staff about how to address mental health.

“I hope that it sparks more conversations more broadly about how we talk about mental wellness and how that that might impact the people in our lives — friends, colleagues, teammates, peers and ultimately ourselves,” Aisaka said.

Kerker said SU does a good job of involving mental health on campus and the university has good resources, but she added that there aren’t enough to properly serve the size of the campus.

“Increasing the amount of resources available to students, I think, could go a long way, whether that was more staff at the Counseling Center or increasing the amount of resources and money available to the Office of Health Promotions who are doing a lot of work regarding mental health education,” she said.

Kerker said she hopes her work through Active Minds and their involvement with Mental Health Awareness Week will have an impact that will make this an annual event on campus.

“I think it is so important that people realize they are not alone, mental health affects everyone,” Kerker said.

Published on October 3, 2016 at 12:39 am

Contact William: wgmuoio@syr.edu