As May is mental health awareness month, two groups on campus are working to promote a better understanding of mental health among students.

On Sunday, April 30, Augustana’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and The Gray Matters Collective (TGMC) hosted Hear Me Out. 

During the event, students were encouraged to think about mental health and talk with local resources, such as Eagle View Behavioral Health and the Greater Mississippi Valley chapter of NAMI. Students also enjoyed snacks, games, a raffle and therapy dogs.

In the next two weeks, NAMI and TGMC plan to host other events and tables in the Brew in order to bring mental health into the conversation again.

Farrah Roberts, director of student well-being and resiliency, works alongside these two groups.

“It’s very inspirational,” Roberts said. “I have seen in the last four or five years how much more open students are to talking about mental health.”

In her time at Augustana, Roberts has connected NAMI and TGMC with resources in the Quad Cities so that students know where to look for help.

“It’s become more a part of the language,” Roberts said, referring to mental health as a whole. “The more we know how to ask for help, the more we do ask for help.”

This is the second year that an event like “Hear Me Out” has taken place. Senior Tatum Higgs, the president of NAMI, helped to organize the event. 

“I’ve always been passionate about helping people… from my own family and my own struggles that I’ve seen in my life,” Higgs said.

In 2019 and 2020, both NAMI and TGMC were huge, according to Higgs. But after the pandemic, both groups struggled to regain momentum.

“We’ve been working really hard to bring that back,” Higgs said. “It’s really nice for students to be able to get advice on things that they’re struggling with from other students.”

One activity at “Hear Me Out” this year was rock painting. Students could paint a simple message or symbol onto rocks that would later be spread around campus.

“You’re walking by, and it’s just a little pick-me-up,” Higgs said.

Therapy dogs were also at the event courtesy of the nonprofit Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network (QC CAN), a popular group that often comes to campus. People from the community also volunteer their own dogs for training and then service.

“They’re a very calming presence,” Higgs said. “Sometimes the dogs just sit there, sometimes they fall asleep.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Niedfeldt, social media coordinator for NAMI, also helped plan the event. 

She worked with groups in the area to bring people together.

“Just because students aren’t actively struggling doesn’t mean that they won’t,” Niedfeldt said.

For this reason, it’s important to bring students in contact with resources from the greater Quad Cities area that they might be able to rely on later when they need help.

For Niedfeldt, “Hear Me Out” was a celebration of the students that attend Augustana. 

Mental health might be an important topic now, but it hasn’t always been that way, according to Niedfeldt.

“We want to show that we are moving forward,” Niedfeldt said. “We’re moving forward to be more understanding and accepting of mental health.”

Niedfeldt also emphasized the impact of creative activities. 

“In the past, we’ve done stuff like pumpkin painting,” Niedfelt said.