Students have experienced different school years with the pandemic and schools going virtual. Many of these students do not know how to express their feelings and these students may be struggling with mental health issues.
The Abington Heights School District reached out to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) for a program they offer to students. NAMI Northeast Region PA and the NAMI on Campus at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine selected the NAMI “Say it Out Loud” program.
Students in grades 9 through 12 attended the program in 42 English classes.
Students from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine started volunteering with NAMI Northeast Region in the fall of 2020. They provided assistance as NAMI transitioned to virtual education programs and from there wanted to create a NAMI on campus which is now in its second year.
“NAMI On Campus clubs are student-led clubs that tackle mental health issues at high schools and on college campuses by raising mental health awareness, educating the community, supporting students, promoting services and advocating for more support,” said Marie Onukiavage, Executive Director of NAMI. “These clubs are open to all students, whether they live with a mental health condition, are a family member or friend or have a general interest in mental health. NAMI on Campus clubs aim to address the mental health needs of all students so they have positive and successful and fun college experiences.”
Geisinger School of Medicine 2nd year students Evan Calvo and Mindy Gruzin lead the program.
“The Say It Out Loud” is exactly what it sounds like — saying silent things out loud,” said Gruzni. “As students ourselves, we hoped to connect with high school students and help them normalize talking openly about mental health with each other and the adults in their lives. There wasn’t a lot of instruction — kids nowadays know a lot about mental health already from social media. Instead, we aimed to facilitate open discussion but mostly the kids talking and not us. They took the lead.”
Gruzni is from Baltimore, Md., and is interested in primary care.
Calvo is from Northeast Philadelphia. He is interested in psychiatry.
“Members of our medical school have been looking for tangible and concrete ways to connect with members of our community about mental health. When Marie Onukiavage presented the idea of working with Abington Heights School District on this, we immediately saw an opportunity to get involved.” said Calvo.
The presentation used videos, PowerPoint, handouts and a cloud based interactive presentation software called Aha slides. These slides used polls and word clouds to increase engagement. Students were able to answer questions with their phones or lab tops.
“Teens are a vulnerable group when it comes to mental health. Being a teenager is tough enough with all the transitions and social anxieties Today’s teens have endured the trauma of a global pandemic, political upheaval and war, economic instability, prolonged virtual learning and social isolation. They don’t have the same coping skills that adults have. We thought it was important to give teens a safe low stakes platform to air out their grievance’s and find common ground,” said Gruzni.
The platform used was interactive with the students getting question prompts such as during virtual earning I felt? They students then typed their thoughts into a website without using their names. Many answers had similar responses.
Onukiavage reflected on the “Say it Out Loud” program in this way.
“I believe the students were grateful for the opportunity to have these conservations. Many expressed experiencing great distress in response to the virtual school experience during the pandemic. Many also expressed frustration that adults in their lives do not take them seriously when they do express their mental health struggles. By giving young people knowledge about these topics, they are more likely to ask for help when needed and to provide information and support to a friend who may be struggling.”
The program with some adaptations will be offered to parents.
“The Say it Out Loud” program is available to any interested school districts as well as other youth groups such as church youth groups, boy or girl scouts etc.
For more information, call NAMI at 570-342-1047 or e mail at info@namipa.org.
