Aevidum: Mental Health Awareness Month

May 1, 2019

Cherry Marni

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and to kick off the month, I spoke to one of the leaders of STEM’s Aevidum club, Savannah Miller. Savannah Miller, Chirayu Marwaha, Michael Muthurania, Nina Gallagher, Lais Santoro, and Emma Von Licht started Aevidum earlier this year to spread awareness about pressing issues for teenagers in today’s modern society with an emphasis on mental health and suicide prevention. The club’s motto is “We got your back”, and they’ve done everything in their power to enforce this motto at STEM.

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Cherry: Hey Savannah! Thank you so much for letting me interview you! We’ll start off with the basics. What is Aevidum and who are the leaders?

Savannah: Aevidum is a mental health club and our aim is to destigmatize mental health, and we do that through, basically just talking about it. The leaders are the six people who did the “If you really knew me . . .” presentation at the beginning of the year, so that’s me, Michael, Nina, Chirayu, Lais, and Emma, but each year we are planning on having a new cycle of leaders.

C: What inspired you to start Aevidum?

S: So I knew some of the people who were close to some of the kids who died by suicide this past year in our community so that definitely inspired me to start Aevidum. Just realizing that there’s really nothing that adults can do, because they aren’t as close to the situation as students are, pushed me to reach out to different organizations that pointed us in the direction of Aevidum. I think it’s a great idea!

C: It is a great idea! So, what does one need to do to join Aevidum? When do you guys meet?

S: We do meet on club days, but those are usually just days when we hang out and talk about upcoming events. We do have after school meetings and there are joint meetings at which everyone in the community and everyone from all of the high schools gets together, but again, those are after school. To join Aevidum, definitely join the Schoology group so that we know you are interested, and definitely attend as many meetings as you can, but really just support the idea and carry the Aevidum mentality with you wherever you go. If someone’s in need, you need to help them get help, which is one of the most important Aevidum principles.

C: And that leads me to my next question. Obviously, as we know, there is a certain stigma around mental health and suicide, so what do we as teenagers do to help break down that stigma?

S: I think we need to not be afraid to use our own voices. Most people think, “Oh I have this idea, but maybe it’s not gonna work,” or, “It’s been shut down before,” but we have the power to control that and growing up, if we just continue to express our discontent with the way things are and just vocalize problems surrounding mental health, it will automatically become more normalized in society.

C: We’ve already covered this topic a little bit before, but do you yourself struggle with any mental illnesses or do you know anyone who struggles with certain mental illnesses who also lead you to start Aevidum?

S: Yeah, actually, most of the people who decided to start the presentation had this empathy towards mental health because they have struggled with it before. For me, it’s anxiety and depression, and I still struggle with these illnesses today, but I’m at the point now where I can keep them under control so I can help other people struggling with the same issues.

C: Thank you so much for sharing. What can teachers or authority figures do to either help kids they know who struggle with mental illnesses?

S: So definitely, we want them to get training. They’ve already received QPR training but definitely more training. The most important thing teachers can do, though, is listen. And by that, I don’t just mean listening when a student has a problem, but also just listening to everyday conversations and knowing what to look for like what’s a red flag and what’s not. For this kind of alertness to occur, teachers need to build strong relationships with their students and also be educated through more and more training.

C: I’m definitely looking forward to seeing some of that training for teachers take place in the next few months. So, what can teenagers who are either suffering from mental illness themselves or know someone who is, do to help, since a lot of times, kids think, “Oh I’m not qualified to talk to someone who’s struggling and actually help them,”?

S: So it’s always hard to say, “Just reach out to me.” If you see someone who is struggling, genuinely sit down and say, “Are you okay? I’ve noticed this, this, and this, and I just want to check in to make sure you’re alright,” and just continue doing that and having an open dialogue with your peers is a great way to start. Yes, we run the risk of getting into a situation win which someone responds saying, “I want to kill myself,” or, “Yes, I’ve been feeling a certain way that makes me not want to be here anymore,” but when they are in that position, they are not trying to drag you into anything, so as long as you know how to respond to that and you know the numbers to call [hotlines will be provided down below for anyone who is struggling], and the people to tell, we can prevent something really bad from happening.

C: Sounds like some great advice! So now let’s talk about Mental Health Awareness Month. What are your goals for Mental Health Awareness Month and what are some of the activities you have planned for May?

S: So we have a sticker competition planned, which is basically a competition for sticker designs, since what we’re going to do is, we’re going to hand out stickers to Aevidum members specifically, and then the entire student body so there is a constant reminder everywhere they look that someone’s got their back. The best sticker design will be selected by our very own student body, and more details about that will be revealed on Schoology in the near future. We also plan on handing out notes to all the seniors right before IB exams, because we know that is a very stressful time. This year, actually, we went to the CCIU and we helped the Chester County Prevention Task Force roll out their campaign for May so we’re definitely going to be taking part in that and trying to bring that to STEM.

C: That’s really cool! So what are some other events that you have planned in the future, maybe for next year?

S: We really want to meet more! This year, with such a small group, a lot of meetings had to be canceled because we can’t have a meeting with just leaders, so we are definitely going to be planning meetings well in advance next year and they will be on Schoology for people to see and hopefully we can get posters around the school about those, too. We hope to roll out more campaigns during the year, and we actually hope to have more divisions of the club on specific issues throughout the year, like eating disorders, for example. The more general Aevidum club might not touch on an issue like eating disorders or men's mental health as much as is necessary, so we hope to have divisions for each specific issue so that every mental illness is equally represented.

C: One last thing, what is one message that you would like to pass on to our readers who are reading this article?

S: I’ve got your back!

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I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed interviewing Savannah! It is now officially May so look forward to all the fun festivities that Aevidum has planned for Mental Health Awareness Month this month! Below, are all the national hotlines you can call or text, and all our school guidance counselors’ info, if you or someone you know is struggling.

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Suicide Hotline: 800-784-2433

Immediate Medical Assistance: 911

Crisis Call Center: 800-273-8255 or text ANSWER to 839863

Crisis Text Line (the U.S. only): Text HELLO to 741741

Youthspace Text Line (across Canada): Text 778-783-0177 from 6 p.m. to midnight daily.

LGBT National Youth Talkline: 800-246-PRIDE (7743)

4 p.m. to 12 a.m. EST, Monday to Friday

12 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST, Saturday

Planned Parenthood National Hotline: 800-230-PLAN (7526) - for routing to local resources

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

Mrs. Mcgavin-Wiedlich: kmcgavin-wiedlich@dasd.org

Mrs. Wallin: mwallin@dasd.org

Mrs. Glowik: lglowik@dasd.org