Rice Krispie Treats are not something usually associated with mental health, but at the My Mental Health Matters club (MMHM), club members bought Rice Krispie Treats for every State High student. After school on Monday, March 26th, club members attached crisis cards to the treats which contained various phone numbers for hotlines. The treats acted as a friendly gesture while providing phone numbers of little known resources. The cards had numbers on them for places like the Youth Haven, the Women’s Resource Center, and many others. “I don’t think a lot of students know about theses sources they can talk to,” sophomore Chelsea Cole said.

Issa Drager, a junior and club member, said, “We’ve put out cards that have numbers on them if anybody’s having trouble. You can call this number and they’ll help you through it.” If students find themselves in an emergency situation with a lack of access to school counselors, they can call these numbers.

Sophomore Mikayla Martin joined the club last year after hearing about it from a friend. “I think it’s very important to be able to help our students and let them know that we’re there for them. We have all the hotlines on the back [of the card], so if any of our students need to contact these hotlines, it’s important that they know these numbers,” Martin said.

Junior Kathryn Salada helped out on Monday and said, “I think it’s just a cool way of getting information out that most students otherwise wouldn’t have known about.”

The accessibility of the crisis cards are a key factor in the helpfulness to students. Having access to different services is “going to be much easier,” freshman Tejas Singh said. “[The card is] going to be near their backpack and be easier to access that information.”

“Going to the counseling office, you would have to make an appointment but just making a quick phone call if you need to talk to someone is easier if you need something that’s quicker,” Martin said.

The MMHM club knows that high school is a stressful time. They aim to lower the high levels of stress on students by providing them with resources to find help. Counselor and advisor to the club Suzanne Lyke said, “Basically, it’s to promote mental health awareness for everybody and to provide a safe environment within the school.”

Mental health is large component of wellness as a whole, so it is vital to consider in day to day life. “Once you come to high school, stresses of school may start interacting with what you’re experiencing on the inside and things can become severe and they can manifest in ways that aren’t so good,” Singh said.

Junior Loren Davis said it’s hard to find yourself in high school, and “being with a group of people that understand the struggles you’re going through and being able to broadcast that throughout the school is really important.”

Davis said students should know “that they’re not alone in this school and that there are resources if they need them.”

Drager said the club is currently working on creating a room in the new building “for students who just need a breather.” If students feel they are unable to continue in a class due to a panic attack or other related situations, they can go to the room. “There’s a teacher there, they can work it out. It’s kind of like a counseling office but more private or, public I guess. There’s going to be stations, like a coloring station, a music station,” Drager said.   

Alongside spreading the word on the numerous hotlines, counselors, and resources at State High, the club wishes to destigmatize mental health related issues. “It’s a really big issue and that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you have mental health issues, we’re here to help you,” Martin said.

Drager said mental illness is “not something to judge somebody about.”

Drager urges students to speak up if they feel like they’re having trouble with anything and to be aware. “It could be about school, it could be about home. Don’t be afraid to speak up because it may be bigger than you think it is. People will [help] work it through. It’s not a bad thing.”

The My Mental Health Matters Club meets from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month in room C039 and is advised by Mrs. Lyke and Mrs. Devecka, school counselors.