Students helping students
By Hailey Murphy
Made up of student volunteers, THRIVE (Together Helping Reach Individual Victories Everyday) is an organization through Prevention and Wellness Services that seeks to promote self-care and wellness at Western, as well as break the stigma around mental illness.
“THRIVE’s mission is to foster resilience and help-seeking behavior,” Tessé Millsap, a peer health educator for THRIVE, said. “We want to provide acceptance for those who face personal struggles within Western’s campus and community.”
To achieve this mission, peer health educators work alongside their coordinators– Michelle Langstraat, sexual violence prevention specialist, and KaSandra Church, suicide prevention coordinator– on programming that’ll inform the student body.
Halley Agnew, another peer health educator, described peer educators as “connectors” between students and resources. When they table in Red Square, every other Tuesday from 12 to 2 p.m., they’re seeking to start conversations about mental health. They want to inform students about the Counseling Center, equip them with self-help techniques or simply perform a random act of kindness.
When they table, however, THRIVE doesn’t just hand out handbills. Peer health educators create zines, complete with illustrations, to hand out to the student body. Millsap’s most recent zine focuses on reframing negative thoughts.
“One way to try combatting the negativity is to approach our negative thoughts with something more positive,” the zine reads. “Reframing our thoughts can help us remember the good things when we’re feeling overwhelmed.”
Langstraat said THRIVE makes zines because it’s a fun, creative way to distribute information, and because students are more likely to keep the zine around.
THRIVE will have a special tabling event, Mental Refresher, from 12 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15. In addition to having refreshments, students can come talk about about their mental health experiences at Western.
Students are encouraged to come talk to peer health educators in Red Square, particularly because it’s their closest connection to other students, Millsap said.
“I feel like a lot of people live with stress and mental health problems that they don’t always necessarily know how to address or bring up,” Millsap said. “I think it’s nice we have THRIVE as an avenue for them, to be able to get to the resources that they need and just learn more, even if they’re not comfortable yet with speaking up.”
THRIVE also encourages anyone who’s struggling to consult free mental health care on campus.
“I’m a firm believer that everyone should probably go to therapy, even if you don’t think you have issues,” Agnew said. “It’s just good to be able to talk about your emotions… emotions are complicated and make life difficult but the only way to get through it is to get through it, and talk about it and work on it.”
Besides their tabling events, THRIVE also works on various programming. Their #itsokay campaign seeks to destigmatize mental health by discussing how common it is, according to the THRIVE Facebook page.
“We all at some point deal with mental health things, and it doesn’t mean anything,” Langstraat said. “You are not your diagnosis, first of all. You may not ever get diagnosed. You are who you are, and you are a whole being that has many emotions.”
THRIVE also created BLU, their stigma-stomping monster, who’s featured on posters across campus.
Students who are interested in volunteering with THRIVE, or receiving suicide prevention training through THRIVE, can visit the Prevention and Wellness Services webpage.