Darbie Andrews

mental-health-block  

It’s so important that all of us are able to talk about mental health freely and without judgment so anyone who needs help feels comfortable asking for it. So many people suffer in silence which is the opposite of what we need.

I heard about the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) club on campus idea in 2017 and based on my work as a counselor at RBHS I knew we had to have it. Students needed a place to talk about mental health and the campus needed the stigma surrounding mental health to be reduced.”

NAMI Club is a student-led group, where students can talk openly about mental health and wellness, learn ways to support friends or family members who have a mental illness, and educate others on campus about mental health and wellness.

The first NAMI Club on Campus at RBHS 2017.

Being the advisor for the NAMI Club has given me the best opportunities to talk to students and hear their ideas about what the campus needs in regards to mental health. The NAMI club students have advocated for having De-Stress Fests right before finals. These fests involve providing donuts and hot chocolate for students, making stress balls with water beads, handing out managing stress information and letting kids shred their stress with paper shredders. The NAMI Club has been putting on the De-Stress Fest for 5 years now to help students deal with the stress of finals.

RBHS NAMI Club running the De-Stress Fest.

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