The first full week of October this year is the 25th Anniversary of Mental Illness Awareness Week, created by National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), and James Hrzina encouraged his students from his AP psychology classes and homeroom period to wear orange today to promote mental health awareness at SDA. Hrzina started a new mental health awareness homeroom this year.

He wants students to “try to begin a conversation about recognizing signs of mental illness and little things that [they] can identify and to try and help people who are struggling and suffering.”
Hrzina’s goal is to start spreading awareness from the ground up. “[We need to take knowledge of mental health] from an individual level of learning what is mental illness, how can I practice mental health, and then spreading it to others so that this little bit of information can be spread a long way,” said Hrzina.
Mental Health Awareness Month will take place during the month of May. “The use of Mental Illness Awareness Week in the fall is a way to initiate things and build throughout the school year information, awareness, and action so that in May we can do something that’s bigger and dedicated to really trying to create change,” said Hrzina.
Studentscan take a pledge to get involved with mental health awareness at www.changedirection.org to spread awareness and generate more support for those suffering with a mental illness, or to help promote mental health.