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Abstract

NAMI on Campus at Purdue University is a collegiate branch of the national, grassroots organization called the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As an effort to address the growing need for mental health education, our organization piloted Indiana’s first Ending the Silence program. It is an educational outreach program focused on teaching local junior high and high school students about mental health through an informative and interactive curriculum. There are five volunteers, myself included, who providd this presentation to the local community. The lead presenters share 30 minutes' worth of mental health information, including warning signs of a mental health crisis and how to help a suicidal friend, while the young adult presenters speak about their own lived experiences with a mental health condition. The goal of the program is to educate and empower students as well as take steps toward debunking the stigma associated with mental illness. With each presentation, feedback and other data is collected in order to assess the success of the program. If successful, we will continue to branch out to other areas of Indiana to educate as many students as possible. Ultimately, this is our organization’s step toward starting the conversation surrounding mental illness with the younger population.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316543

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