A B-A junior had the idea of helping to give her peers a voice when it comes to mental health.
That idea grew into a meeting last week that could spark real change in the way such services are offered in Blair County.
Blair Health Choices came to the school Tuesday, February 4, to discuss mental health at the first meeting of a new club called Youth Voices.
Youth Voices is a group made up of students who are in 8th grade or older and care about mental health. In these meetings students can discuss changes you would like to see in Blair County’s mental health system. Student input is discussed at county leadership team meetings, and the county leadership team has the ability to help spread the word and execute student ideas to improve services for youth and young adults.
The idea of the group is to get an understanding and feedback from youth/young adults. In the meeting you will play a game involving mental health and do some crafts.
At the meeting, they discussed different changes in mental health, especially in Blair County, ways to eliminate the stigma receiving mental health services, as well as helping people with services and reaching out for mental health services. Attendees also spoke about the challenges of connecting young people with mental health services.
Junior Maddalena Pulcinello is the student who first conceptualized bringing the group to B-A.
“My family is very involved in social work. I’ve needed mental health and it’s important to have those resources available,” she said.
Pulcinello said she has experienced first-hand some of the issues experienced by those seeking mental health services, which is another factor that prompted her to begin the club.
The group didn’t have quite the turnout that they wanted on Tuesday, so Blair Health Choices is planning to return another time during an activity period to make it accessible to all students.
“I’m hoping students will get a better understanding of how to access mental health services in our community,” said B-A teacher Mr. Bradnon Stewart, who helped to organize the event.
If you are interested in coming to the meetings, you can call or text Emily at 814-895-0039.
