Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Health & Society

University Hosts Second Annual Mental Health Awareness Week

Monday, October 2, 2017, By Joyce LaLonde
Share
Active Mindsfaculty and staffOffice of Health PromotionStudents

From Oct. 2-5, the University will hold its second annual Mental Health Awareness Week. The effort is coordinated by a cross-campus collaboration, including the Office of Health Promotion and the Mental Wellness Peer Educators, Student Association, Active Minds at SU, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at SU, the Counseling Center, the Disability Cultural Center, Hendricks Chapel and the Office of Student Assistance.

Mental Health Awareness WeekThroughout the week, the campus community is invited to engage in discussions and activities about mental health. This year, the organizers wanted to create opportunities and spaces to talk about mental health at SU while raising awareness and providing connections to campus resources on campus.

“Mental health advocacy is about supporting each other, acknowledging struggles, celebrating resiliency and continuing to work toward positive mental health as a community,” says Angie Pati, vice president of Student Association. “We all may have different mental health stories, but there is one unifying factor: we are never alone. Mental health advocacy is about making sure we truly feel that sentiment.”

The schedule for the week is as follows:

  • Monday, Oct. 2—The Mental Health Awareness Week kick-off hosted by Student Association will be on the Quad from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students are invited to stop by and enjoy the inflatables, games and free T-shirts. The event will also address inequity and mental health alongside Shack-a-thon.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 3—Intersectionality Matters, hosted by NAMI and Active Minds, will be a roundtable discussion about mental health and identity at 6:30 p.m. in 214 Hall of Languages.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 4—Send Silence Packing, hosted by Active Minds, is an exhibition on the Quad to represent the number of college students lost to suicide each year.
  • Thursday, Oct. 5—Therapy Dog Thursday, hosted by the Office of Health Promotion in partnership with Pet Partners, brings therapy dogs to the Quad from 2-6 p.m. Also, Sunset Yoga, hosted by Student Association, welcomes Dean Konkol of Hendricks Chapel to speak on the Quad at 6 p.m. with yoga to follow at 6:30 p.m.

Throughout the week, the campus community will also be invited to tie green ribbons in the Orange Grove for mental health awareness.

“This week gives us opportunities to think about how we play a vital role in creating a community of caring that helps us find connection and belonging at Syracuse, practice compassion toward others and ourselves, and start what can sometimes be difficult conversations about mental health,” says Kristelle Aisaka, health promotion specialist for mental health in the Office of Health Promotion. “Mental Health Awareness Week is not only about the week itself, but also about how we can continue to build awareness and support for mental health more broadly throughout the rest of the year and beyond.”

Following the awareness week, the Office of Health Promotion Mental Wellness Peer Educators will continue advocacy and education work. For them, Mental Health Awareness Week provides an avenue to begin these discussions.

“I hope that with the events, more students will stop and think about mental health and well-being empowerment,” says Crystal Hendriks, a senior in Falk College and mental wellness peer educator. “Every event that involves getting feedback and raising discussion about mental health from students will help us as peer educators be able to see the needs that we can address.”

Mental Wellness Peer Educators are available throughout the academic year to give presentations and workshops to classes, offices, floors or student organizations about mental wellness. Current programs relate to sleep, stress reduction, time management and mindfulness. Schedule a session for your group here.

More information about Mental Health Awareness Week or access to join the volunteer listserv is available on the Office of Health Promotion website. For questions, contact Aisaka at kkaisaka@syr.edu.

  • Author

Joyce LaLonde

  • Recent
  • IVMF Advisory Board Welcomes New Additions
    Monday, January 18, 2021, By News Staff
  • Syracuse Stage Announces Changes to the 2020/2021 Season
    Sunday, January 17, 2021, By Joanna Penalva
  • Hehnly Lab Awarded $1.2M NIH Grant to Research Critical Tissue Formation
    Sunday, January 17, 2021, By Dan Bernardi
  • Important Information Regarding Proof of Eligibility for and Access to the COVID Vaccine
    Saturday, January 16, 2021, By News Staff
  • COVID-19 Update: Vaccination | Testing | Important Reminders | Zoom Sessions
    Friday, January 15, 2021, By News Staff

More In Health & Society

‘Trust the Process’ with COVID Vaccine, Emergency Management Director Says

Trust the process. As a 16-year member of the United States Air Force Reserve and now in his job as director of emergency management and business continuity at the University, Joseph Hernon has always followed that philosophy. And that’s why…

Ph.D. Student in Clinical Psychology Works with Non-Profit to Fill Unmet Need in Asian Community

Jin Zhao is a fourth year Ph.D. student working toward his career goal of becoming a practicing psychologist. His qualifying exam project is researching Asian college students and how their experiences of microaggression are related to their attitudes about going…

‘2020 Was Broken and Beautiful. 2021 Needs Grace and Grit.’

The Reverend Brian E. Konkol, Ph.D., dean of Hendricks Chapel, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “2020 was broken and beautiful. 2021 needs grace and grit.” The Rev. Konkol leads religious and spiritual life both at the University and across…

Student Gets Dose of ‘Hope, Optimism and Relief’ with COVID-19 Vaccine

Louis Smith was thrilled when he was named valedictorian of his class at Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, about 50 miles west of Syracuse. A lifelong Syracuse University sports fan, Smith was ecstatic when he received his acceptance letter from…

Participants Sought for Survey on Information, Preventive Behavior and Disparities in Pandemic Circumstances 

A research team in the School of Information Studies, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin and University of Washington, is seeking participants for a survey about information behaviors, risk perceptions and health disparities relating to COVID-19. Participants…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.