Active Minds hosted an event for World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10 where students could discover and then connect with counseling center resources, as well as participate in fun games.
The event highlighted organizations such as THRIVE, OASIS, Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) and many more mental health resources.
“I wanted to get in on this event because, for a lot of people, their coping mechanism is alcohol and other substances. So, my program aims to just encourage safe use if you are going to use, and just open up the discussion,” said Sarah Simonian, the graduate assistant for AOD.
Students received flyers containing information on BucsPress2, Ask. Listen. Refer, the National Suicide Prevention hotline, community resources and general counseling center knowledge.
“I really want to create a safe space. We had some really great conversation with people during the event where we allowed them to let their feelings show, use some colorful language and talk about some things that have been going on,” said Simonian.
The events in which students could participate included a paint-your-emotions wall.
“We had a piece of fabric, and we got tie dye stuff. I would say ‘Paint your emotions. Pick a Color. Whatever you’re feeling right now, just throw it on there.’ It gave them a moment to check in with themselves, check in with their emotions,” said Katie Ward, the graduate assistant for THRIVE.
The event also had a bucket list wall, a stress ball station and a kindness rock painting station, where students could paint messages on rocks that will be placed at random places across campus.
The event was a big hit, and the group even had to close early because they ran out of informational materials and goodie bags due to the great turnout.
For information on future Active Minds events, contact activeminds@etsu.edu.
