CUMBERLAND, Maine —In an effort to raise mental health awareness, students at Greely High School held a “Mental Health Matters 5K”. This is the second year they’ve held the event.
The event is hosted by the school’s Active Minds/KyleCares Club. The club’s mission is to spread the message that mental health matters and to reduce the stigma surrounding it by having open conversations.
This year, they held a ribbon cutting for their new Hope Garden. It was created in partnership with the Yellow Tulip Project. In the fall, one tulip was planted for each student at the high school.
“Each tulip is like– it’s every student’s hope. It’s every student’s place. In our school. Everyone matters. Everyone takes up space,” said Caitlin McCarron, the secretary of the school’s Active Minds KyleCares Club.
Surrounding the perimeter of the garden are rocks painted by students. Many of the rocks contain inspirational messages such as “you matter” or “one day at a time”.
Sam Anania is the club’s president. He said his older brother was the president before him and inspired him to join the club.
“I think there’s so much to this club that it really can achieve a lot of different things. [My message] is to just overall tell people that it’s okay not to be okay and to smash the stigma that’s surrounding teens’ mental health and just mental health in general,” Anania said.
At bib pickup in the school’s lobby, participants could pick up t-shirts, pins, bookmarks and bracelets, all sharing messages of mental health awareness.
The event drew out hundreds of runners and walkers to take part in the 5K. It started on Main Street and finished on Greely’s track, where participants were met with cheers from volunteers. “I just feel very overjoyed. I love to see people actually wanting to do this, and I think this is one of the events where we see that the most,” Anania said.
Last year, the Mental Health Matters 5K raised nearly $60,000. The money raised goes towards the programming and events the Active Minds KyleCares Club puts together. McCarron says that she’s noticed a difference at school. “Since the start of our club, our school has done amazing things to foster that community and foster that sense of culture around mental health. And it’s amazing to see. I’ve definitely seen a difference here,” she said.
