Guilford High School OKs Student Mental Health Awareness Club

GUILFORD, CT — A month ago, a small group of Guilford High School students created what they hoped would be an official school club, one borne out of what they knew was a critical need: reaching out to their peers about reducing stigma, raising awareness, promoting education and, importantly, encouraging and empowering young people struggling with depression, anxiety and myriad other mental health issues to get help.

According to group founder and Guilford High School senior Addie Kenney, the club wasn't meant to represent or replace mental health treatment, but to increase student awareness and help-seeking.

The club idea was initially rejected by the school.

Read the full Patch story about the journey of Guilford Health Space from an idea to an official high school club here.

The struggle to get the official nod from the school was real. There was Change.org petition, which garnered nearly 1,300 signatures, and a campaign by the students, namely Kenney, to spread the word by using social media.

Now, a month after Patch profiled the effort, it's a go: The Guilford High School BC2M (Bring Change To Mind) Mental Health Awareness Alliance is a reality.

"Receiving the go-ahead to found our Mental Health Awareness Alliance means that students are now going to have a voice in the decisions that are being made for their own safety," Kenney told Patch Tuesday. "It sends a message to students that their opinion is wanted and needed, and that their mental health is valued. Recognizing our student-led alliance as a school organization is a step towards ending the stigma surrounding mental illness at Guilford High School, if only a preliminary one."

Kenney said that the club was OK'd after securing a partnership with Bring Change to Mind, a high school-focused national mental health initiative, she said the club has "gained resources, funds, and experts willing and ready to help us in any way."

"It means we will have qualified advisors at every meeting, thanks to our awesome partners in Guilford Youth & Family Services and available social workers at Guilford High School, and a permanent meeting time every week," she said.

"We will now begin the peer-to-peer work of empowering students to feel comfortable asking for help, inviting professionals to educate students on topics related to mental health, and raising awareness of mental illness, as well as surrounding the resources currently available to GHS students," Kenney explained. "We now have a national organization backing us and our mission, and our voices will be heard."

The club now has its officers: Kenney, Abby Moore, Kelsey Lynch, and Juan Miguel Salas-Romer.

"We would love to give a huge thank you to BC2M high school coordinator, Brenna Williams, who believed in us. She has gone above and beyond to support us by amplifying our voices and making sure we are heard," Kenney said.

The club will have a $500 annual budget, will be student-led, can reserve meeting spaces, host events and advertise. It's open to all students and it can collaborate with other clubs. And, as it's now associated with Bring Change to Mind, it will have resources from the national organization.