On Tuesday, Nov. 5, a form was sent to students’ emails asking if they wanted to participate in The Mental Health
Advisory Committee (MHAC). The committee was initially formed 10 years ago but has been running on and off over the past decade. According to school social worker Kristin Sesti, the committee’s main goal is to address mental health issues in the community and work with its members to combat said issues. The group is made up of 20 individuals in the East Lansing community including therapists, teachers, school staff, a psychiatric nurse, parents, the director of equity and social justice and students. “In addition to a professional connection, there’s also usually a personal connection,” Sesti said. The committee is run by the Coordinator of Mental Health Services, Heather Findley, who originally sent out the form recruiting students. These students would help the committee decide what actions to take against combating poor mental health, and what events are run. Last year, the committee organized a mental health
summit in May. Annually, new students are chosen to become a part of the committee. This helps MHAC pinpoint the specific needs of students. Of the almost 15 students who applied this year, only four were selected. Anissa Munoz (12) applied to the committee because she wanted to make people aware of the support available and let them know that it’s okay to accept help. “I personally didn’t know of all the help that we have here at the school, because I don’t think it’s advertised well enough,” Munoz said. Another student who joined the committee was Joseph Eiland (11). He also had a passion for mental health and sought for more people that felt the same. “I feel [mental health] should be more talked about,” Eiland said. On Monday, Nov. 11, MHAC had its first meeting. During this meeting, the adults in the
committee wanted to know what struggles students face. “Many of the students mentioned reducing stigma for accessing mental health,” Sesti said. “The goal is to educate and make students aware of the resources that are already
available to them.” Some new ideas that were discussed were implementing support during transition times such as when middle schoolers transition to high school and when seniors graduate and go to college, trade school or the
workforce. While the first meeting was all about determining what needed to be fixed, the second meeting on Monday, Dec. 9 was more action-oriented. They split up into small groups, each catering to a different need, and started making plans about ways to combat those issues. “We started doing some pre-planning,” Sesti said. “We also talked to some community providers about collaboration opportunities, and created some timelines.” In addition, they also
discussed providing students with events that can support them during stressful situations. “We talked about doing a
thing where we watch a movie after school,” Eiland said. “The more MHAC meets and the more student voices are
included, the more impactful they hope to be on those around them.” The club meets the second week of every month and will resume in January.