The CHS Mental Health Coalition Club, founded by Lillian Goins, meets every 3rd Wednesday of each month to discuss a specific mental health in depth. These meetings are held through online zoom or in Mrs. Sackhoff’s room at 4 pm after school. Students interested can join at any time by joining the Schoology group in the group tab with the code: 5HJC-M7FM-P4F7S, all are welcome. 

Lillian started the club due to the overuse of terms like depression, anorexia, anxiety, and OCD in the wrong setting. This makes it harder for students who actually struggle with these illnesses to realize they actually have them and get help. This club aims to provide an explanation of mental health illnesses and gives examples on how you can help your peers and friends dealing with them.

When talking about the club and why making it a thing was important, Lillian said, “I have had an idea for some type of mental health outlet since 8th grade. Mental illnesses are transported in a multitude of ways: genetics, absorbed patterns of parents, or even traumatic events. Suffering with depression since I was young, there was no way I could have identified it, I was in like Fifth grade. That’s honestly where it becomes detrimental because I let that simmer for three to four years until something was actually done about it; all because I was not aware that what I was dealing with was not normal. I would say the tragedy of suicide among us is too prominent than some may realize, and in people you would not expect, which is why we need more people educated to recognize the signs. “I had no idea he/she/they would ever do that,” or, “she/he/they seemed so happy, I don’t understand how this happened,” demonstrates just how uninformed most of us are. We need to take these matters seriously and strive to reconcile with the health of peers.”