Students entering Old Union Hall in the University Union on Tuesday afternoon were met with efforts to raise mental health awareness during the Roosevelt Institute’s “B-Mindful Mental Health Fair.”
The Roosevelt Institute, a student-run, nonpartisan policy organization with over 130 chapters throughout the United States, aims to improve the local community through policy creation, with a focus on the Broome County area and New York state. The fair was part of the organization’s Blueprint Binghamton, a citizen-driven effort to plan for Binghamton’s future that was crowdsourced from the opinions of 635 students at Binghamton University and takes into consideration issues that students feel need to be addressed by the University and local government.
Although the mental health fair was not in the original Blueprint Binghamton, Róisin DeBonis, the chair of the Roosevelt Institute’s Blueprint Committee and a sophomore majoring in psychology, said it was included after the group determined it was an area of need on campus. DeBonis said it is critical to spread awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health on campus and in the community.
“When I heard the policy about mental health, it became personal to me,” DeBonis said. “It is a lot of work, but because I have this passion, it helps me push through.”
The event featured a small panel of mental health professionals, including three speakers from High Hopes Helpline, the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier and Runaway, an up-and-coming app that will allow people to anonymously talk to trained volunteers. Additionally, 12 different organizations tabled during the fair and educated students on the different resources available on campus.
Austin Perelka, a member of the Roosevelt Institute and a senior double-majoring in political science and anthropology, said he personally struggled with mental health, which is why he wants other students to be able to freely discuss mental health without feeling discouraged.
“I struggle with mental health problems, and we often feel discriminated and intimidated if we even mention these issues and it feels like a weakness,” Perelka said. “This event and the Blueprint initiative aims to reduce these stigmas and make everyone feel more comfortable.”
In addition to holding the fair to reach the campus community, most of the members of the Roosevelt Institute have undergone a five-hour training class held by the Mental Health Outreach Peer Educators (M-HOPE). The mental health advocacy training involves topics such as suicide prevention, ending the stigma and handling stress in order to help others.
Katarina Hajder, a member of the Roosevelt Institute and a sophomore majoring in psychology, said she hoped the fair helped connect students with mental health resources like M-HOPE. Although BU offers several ways for students to receive counseling and psychiatric assistance, such as the University Counseling Center and psychiatry appointments at the Decker Student Health Services Center, the number of students utilizing these resources has outpaced their expansion and availability, leaving many campus groups to fill in the gap.
In addition to issues with accessing mental health services at the University, many students are also unaware of where to turn for help. Bryant Lum, a junior majoring in systems science and industrial engineering, said he was not aware of BU’s mental health resources until he attended the event.
“I feel like people on campus are stressed over tests and compromise their mental health just to do well in school,” Lum said. “I just don’t know anything about the resources.”
According to Peter Lam, an undeclared freshman, the event provided him with important resources that he previously overlooked.
“I think mental health is one of the things that we neglect because nobody has really worried about it through the past few decades, until now,” Lam said. “One of the reasons why mental health is not more prioritized is because of the stigma of being weak if you have a mental illness.”