Meigs Middle School students are focused on destigmatizing mental illness and helping their fellow students with the challenges they may have.
HOPE Squad President McLaren Siner teamed up with a few 7th and 8th-grade athletes who are leaders on-and-off the field to accomplish this goal.
- Siner, along with Parker Powell, Christian Nelson, Carter Powell, and Carter Marracco hosted two Mental Health Matters Mondays in the cafeteria during all three lunches.
These students walked around to each and every table of students, handing out LifeSavers (as an ice breaker), sticky notes with positive messages written on them, Resource Cards, and spoke with their peers about Mental Health Awareness Month as well as resources on and off-campus they could use should they find themselves in distress, according to Superintendent Marcus Chambers.
“My goal was to partner HOPE Squad with students whose peers see them as leaders within the school in order create opportunities for students who may need to talk about challenges they, or someone they know, may have,” said Heather Powell, Mental Health Counselor at Meigs. “The more they have these conversations, the more comfortable they may feel to reach out to someone when they are in need.”
Chambers says he is “proud to see our students taking the initiative to help their peers break the stigma of mental health challenges in such a compassionate way.”
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