Islip Freshman Launches Mental Health Resource Campaign

ISLIP, NY — One high school freshman is determined to help her community understand and better their mental health.

Following recent school tragedies such as Uvalde, Brianna McGowan, a student at Islip High School decided to do something positive to help her peers.

“Because of the Texas shooting, I felt upset and wanted to make something so that students know that there’s a solution to problems," she said. "Not all solutions are violent, and so they know that good people are there if they need help.”

Brianna and her school counselor, Nicole Hall, developed the idea of creating a flyer for students that included mental health resources available at the school, on Long Island, and via New York
and national hotlines.

“We were trying to think of a way to help, whether in a big way or something small,” Hall said. “There’s a lot of scary news and negativity that’s in our face, so we also included positive news and mental health apps to make it very tangible for other high school students.

She also researched social media and included inspiring Instagram accounts and mental health apps.

Teachers shared the flyer in their classrooms, the Islip School District said, and students could also find it on the school’s grade-level Teams pages.

“I cannot tell you how impressed I was to learn of Brianna’s willingness to engage and support her schoolmates as thoughtfully and compassionately as she planned," said outgoing Principal Jon LaRochester. "It is essential for us as educators to cultivate and support the natural leadership that students like Brianna display."